Delhi Congress president Sheila Dikshit Wednesday urged Congress president Rahul Gandhi to take back his decision to quit, even as scores of party workers and leaders of the city unit gathered outside his residence in a show of support.
Dikshit visited Gandhi's Tughlak Lane residence here. After coming out, she remained silent on whether she was able to meet the Gandhi scion.
A close aide of Dikshit said she left a message for the Congress president in which she asked Gandhi to withdraw his offer to resign.
"We all are for him. He should reconsider his decision. I conveyed my message that he should not quit and lead the party as all the Congress leaders and workers want him to do," Dikshit told PTI.
The former chief minister led the Congress in Delhi in the recently held Lok Sabha elections, but the party lost on all seven seats.
However, the silver lining for the party was it could dislodge the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and occupy number two spot and considerably improve its vote share.
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Delhi Congress leaders Jagdish Tytler and Haroon Yusuf were also present outside Gandhi's residence.
Boxer Vijender Singh, who fought the polls from the South Delhi constituency and ended up at the third spot, said workers do not want Gandhi to resign as he is an "able and hardworking" leader.
"He has not resigned. We have come to talk to him. He has made an offer to resign, but people do not want him to go. He has worked hard. If the results are not in our favour, it hurts but we are fighters. Nobody else can work like him. He is a leader who takes everyone together," Singh said.
Slogans of 'Rahulji, we are with you' and 'Please do not resign' rang through the air. Several workers were carrying placards with Gandhi's photos urging him not to resign.
Some party workers even demanded that elections be held again in a fair manner with ballot papers instead of EVMs since they claimed the latter could have been tampered with.
Tytler said there are millions of Congress workers who do not want Gandhi to resign.
"We had to be here because we do not want him to resign. There are millions of Congress workers who do not want him to resign. We are disappointed with the results, but not with the leadership," he said.
The crisis in the Congress showed no signs of easing with Gandhi sticking to his decision to resign as party chief after its Lok Sabha poll debacle and staying away from meeting party leaders.
On Tuesday, Gandhi only met his mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, besides senior party leader K C Venugopal and Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot went to meet Gandhi at his residence on Tuesday, but they could only meet Priyanka Gandhi.
Senior Congress leaders have been pressing Rahul Gandhi to take back his decision to resign and revamp the party at all levels.
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