Cong Leader Natwar Singh bats for Priyanka Gandhi name for top post

New Delhi, July 22: With the Congress leadership in limbo, party veteran Natwar Singh on Sunday joined the chorus backing Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for the top post, adding that having a non-Gandhi at the helm will cause the party to split.

Natwar Singh suggested that Rahul Gandhi's decision of having someone from outside the Gandhi family as the party chief will have to be reversed.

Showering praise on the Congress general secreatry over her recent visit to Sonbhadra, Singh said,"You must have witnessed what she (Priyanka Gandhi) did in a village in Uttar Pradesh. It was amazing. She stayed there and achieved what she wanted to."

Senior party leader Sriprakash Jaiswal too batted for Priyanka to take over saying that she can take charge as party President if Rahul Gandhi is not ready for the job.

Earlier, Anil Shastri, son of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, had said that Priyanka Gandhi should be made the Congress president as no one other than her is "100 per cent acceptable".

Anil Shastri, speaking to ANI, had also warned that if somebody else is made the supremo and a section of the outfit does not accept them, chances are that the party will disintegrate.

The call for a young party president was first supported by Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh who urged the Congress Working Committee (CWC) to find generation next leader as Gandhi's successor. This sentiment was echoed by Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia too.

Notably, the Congress party is facing its worst leadership crisis in recent times after Rahul Gandhi quit as President following the party's debacle in the Lok Sabha elections 2019, wherein they managed to win only 52 seats.