Harish Rawat follows Rahul, quits as AICC general secretary citing 2019 poll defeat

New Delhi, July 04: A day after Rahul Gandhi Gandhi stepped down as Congress chief, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Harish Rawat submitted his resignation, taking responsibility of party's defeat in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Rawat said as the in-charge of party affairs in Assam, he was responsible for the below-par performance of the Congress in the parliamentary polls and thus, had decided to step down from the post.

The resignation comes in the wake of Rahul Gandhi resigning as the Congress chief on Wednesday.

"We the office bearers of the Congress are responsible for the party's defeat and organisational failure. I am responsible for the below-expected result of the party in Assam as in-charge of the state. I accept my shortcoming and resign as general secretary in-charge of state," Rawat said on Twitter.

He added that for people like him, posts were not important, but a leader like Gandhi, who inspired the workers, should continue to lead the party.

"If the leadership remains in his hand, it is possible that he could lead the party to victory in 2022 assembly elections in states and also in 2024 Lok Sabha elections to defeat the BJP and Narendra Modi. That is why all democratic forces and Congress workers want to see Rahul Gandhi as Congress president," the former Uttarakhand chief minister said.

Rawat had last month stated that under Rahul Gandhi's leadership the party can go from defeat to victory. "We were not successful, but by strengthening the organisation, we can mount a challenge to the RSS-BJP's malicious propaganda," the former Uttarakhand chief minister said.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party's highest decision making body, will meet soon to resolve the issue. It has been urged by Gandhi to appoint a new party president at the earliest.