New Delhi: The internal politics which has continued in the Congress after its dismal performance in the recently held assembly elections in five states, various leaders, mainly the veterans of the party, are now demanding collective and inclusive leadership in the party.

The decision came out when the leaders attended a meeting at the house of veteran party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad in New Delhi.

However, what is interesting is that their call for collective leadership did not mention keeping the Gandhi family out of the leadership.

Some leaders of the party are saying that the Gandhi family should be kept out of organizational elections.

The leaders who joined at the house of Azad said that Congress should be proactive to create a platform with other like-minded parties to take on the BJP in 2024. The leaders want to end the gradual isolation of the party amid the opposition. 

Those who were present in the meeting were Kapil Sibal, Manish Tiwari, Anand Sharma, Prithviraj Chavan, they are all part of the group of 23 dissidents.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who had raised objections over the style of functioning of the party in the past, was also present in the meeting.

Others who attended the meeting were Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Raj Babbar, Shankar Singh Vaghela and Manishankar Aiyer.  

"We believe that the only way forward is for the Congress to adopt the model of collective and inclusive leadership and decision-making at all levels," read the statement.

"In order to oppose the BJP it is necessary to strengthen the Congress Party. We demand the Congress party initiate dialogue with other like-minded forces to create a platform to pave the way for credible alternatives for 2024," the statement added.

It is learnt that the members first wanted to meet at the house of senior party leader Kapil Sibal, but the place changed at the last minute.

It may be noted that Sibal has also been vocal in raising questions over the style of functioning of the top leaders of the party.