The Congress leadership is under renewed pressure to change its leader in the Lok Sabha. Incumbent Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, currently in the eyes of the storm, is seen as a 'habitual offender' in making politically incorrect formulation and then retracting from it. Adhir is also heading the Bengal unit of Congress that violates the party’s in-house norm of ‘one man, one post’.

Adhir may be right in admitting that his proficiency in Hindi is far from being perfect. The apology to the newly elected President of India is in order.

However, his insistence on seeking a personal audience with the lady occupying the high office in Rashtrapati Bhawan may not be met for a variety of reasons. A section of the Congress therefore thinks that Adhir should hold a press conference to put the records straight and write a letter of apology to her.

During the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests, Adhir had described Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah as "migrants" -- hailing from Gujarat and living in Delhi. He had also created a flutter of sorts when the abrogation of Article 370 was being debated in Parliament, pointing out that the Jammu and Kashmir issue was being monitored by the United Nations (UN).

Adhir had also used disparaging references while comparing PM Modi with Indira Gandhi. The victims of his verbal indiscretion have been many -- from Governor Satya Pal Malik to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

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A number of well-meaning Congress leaders wonder why Rahul and Sonia Gandhi have been insisting upon Adhir’s continuation as Congress leader in the Lok Sabha when the party has many more contenders, ranging from Rahul himself or Shashi Tharoor. The experience of Manish Tiwari and the freshness of Gaurav Gogoi can also be put to some good use, argue party leaders who are not members of the Lok Sabha.

The possibility of a change of guard in the leadership of the Congress cannot be ruled out as the party leadership is reportedly in conciliatory mood with 'G23' or the disgruntled Congress leaders.

It is not merely a coincidence that both Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma were yesterday invited to interact with the media at 24, Akbar Road after a gap of almost two years or since the time they inked a letter questioning the Gandhis’ [read Rahul’s] style of functioning in August 2020. Both Azad and Sharma hail from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and Himachal Pradesh, respectively, where Assembly polls are due in the next few months.

Incidentally, Sharma holds the distinction of being the first official spokesperson of a political party in 1989. Rajiv Gandhi’s move to appoint a party spokesperson was quickly borrowed by the Janata Dal and BJP. Prior to 1989, the party's point of view was articulated by the senior party leaders such as the general secretaries or other designated office bearers.

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Internally and organisationally, Congress is currently witnessing a lull of sorts. However, every party leader of consequence has a sense of anticipation and change. All eyes are on the presidential poll which is scheduled to be held in August-September this year.

The million-dollar question is whether Rahul would throw his hat in the ring or let a non-Gandhi member hold the prestigious office. There is also a talk of some senior party leaders being appointed as working president of the party. In all such scenarios and speculation, Rajasthan-based leaders -- Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot -- figure prominently.

The Congress leadership is also sitting over the list of new party spokespersons. The newly appointed communication head Jairam Ramesh and his core team consisting of departmental heads, Pawan Khera and Supriya Shrinate, are generally seen as excellent choices, but naming of spokespersons is reportedly mired in perceived hierarchy, seniority and pecking order.

Some former ministers in Manmohan Singh’s council of ministers and others who held executive posts are said to be reluctant to work ‘under’ or report to Pawan, Supriya or Jairam. The Congress, it is said, is not in the habit of learning or changing.

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