Ahmedabad: Internal discord within the Gujarat unit of the Congress has come to the fore following its poor performance in the recent local body elections, with senior leader and AICC member Gaurav Pandya openly criticising the state leadership and demanding their resignation.

In a strongly worded social media post, Pandya said, “From today, the campaign to find the scapegoats of Gujarat Congress begins, and so does the beginning of the end of 2027. Those who invited this humiliation will themselves look for its reasons, yet remain in their positions.”

Calling for accountability, Pandya said senior leaders, including the state president, should take moral responsibility for the defeat and step down. He warned that without immediate structural reforms, it would be difficult for the party to mount a serious challenge in the 2027 Assembly elections.

He said, “What I posted this morning was because I received information that city presidents and district presidents from South Gujarat had been called to Ahmedabad today, where they would be questioned about the election defeat. Along with that, a timetable, a document was circulated, which included details about uncontested seats, names of candidates, and the most ridiculous part was the last column asking: ‘Who recommended this candidate?’ So, what exactly is being orchestrated here? It appears the plan is that if the candidate has gone, the person who recommended them must go down too. They intend to sacrifice that person as well, to make a scapegoat out of them. By doing so, they hope to absolve themselves of any blame, claiming”

“In reality, all of this is merely an exercise in ‘eyewash’, a transparent attempt to evade personal accountability. I state this clearly, unequivocally, and with full conviction: the entire responsibility for this situation rests with the State President. He must, without wasting another moment, resign from his post and hand over the reins of leadership to someone else. The 2027 Legislative Assembly elections are fast approaching. Respected Rahul-ji in the Lok Sabha, and Respected Kharge-ji in the Rajya Sabha, have both declared that we will defeat the BJP in Gujarat in the 2027 Assembly elections. If we are to translate those words into reality, this current organisational structure simply will not suffice.”

The remarks have triggered fresh tensions within the party’s state unit, raising questions about internal cohesion and leadership effectiveness. Pandya also alleged that several leaders remain disconnected from ground realities while continuing to hold key positions.

Notably, in 2010, Siddharth Patel resigned as Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee president, taking responsibility for the party’s defeat in the local body elections. Similarly, in 2021, Amit Chavda stepped down from the same post. However, despite the party performing worse in the latest elections, no resignation has been announced so far, including by current state chief Amit Chavda. DeshGujarat