Decision on new Congress chief will be collective: Venugopal

New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) Soon after Rahul Gandhi announced that he was no longer the Congress chief, party General Secretary, Organisation, K.C. Venugopal said that the decision to appoint a new party President will be a "collective" one.

Another senior Congress leader said that Gandhi will continue as party chief till the time the Congress Working Committee (CWC) - the party's top decision-making body, formally accepts his resignation and starts the process of electing his successor.

Venugopal, who was in Kerala, told IANS over phone: "Yes, I am aware that Rahul Gandhi has resigned... a decision on electing a new party chief will be a collective one."

Asked when a meeting of the CWC will be called to decide on the new chief, he refused to answer.

Another Congress General Secretary, who wished not to be named, said: "Technically Rahul Gandhi will continue as the party chief as his resignation has not been accepted by the CWC."

He said that to elect a new President, the CWC needs to accept Gandhi's resignation first.

Gandhi on Wednesday announced that he has resigned as the Congress President, taking blame for the party's rout in the Lok Sabha elections where it could win only 52 of the 542 seats.

In an open letter posted on his Twitter account which no longer described him as the Congress President, Gandhi, son of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, also said that the BJP's sweeping election win proved that the RSS aim of capturing the country's institutional structure was now complete."As President of the Congress party, I am responsible for the loss of the 2019 election. Accountability is critical for the future growth of our party.

"It is for this reason that I have resigned as Congress President."Two days after the election results were announced on May 23, Gandhi announced that he would resign as the Congress chief. He was himself defeated in family pocket borough, Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, but won from Wayanad in Kerala.