The group of dissenters known as G-23 might have finally burnt their bridges with the Congress by starting a separate public outreach programme and their leader Ghulam Nabi Azad expressing his admiration for Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a time the party is locked in a bitter political battle with the Centre.

While the so-called loyalists and AICC office-bearers had so far avoided attacking this group and hoped the differences would be resolved, Azad’s praise for Modi on Sunday dramatically changed the mood in the party and the dominant view now is that reconciliation is not possible.

While ordinary workers and middle-rung leaders are livid and want immediate expulsion of some of the key dissenters, even a few top office-bearers feel what was being done was a deliberate ploy to harm the Congress.

Azad had on Sunday said in Srinagar that he admired Modi for not hiding his “reality” and revealing that he had been a tea-seller. Though Azad said he was opposed to Modi’s politics, Congress leaders insist the intention was to create confusion through the praise.

Many leaders argued this attitude was not in tune with the party’s official line articulated by Rahul Gandhi, that Modi is destroying India’s democracy and harming farmers and the poor by serving the interests of some corporate houses.

A Congress general secretary told The Telegraph: “Running a parallel campaign to highlight the weaknesses of the party and create an impression of a leadership crisis when the schedule for organisational elections is being worked out points to a sinister conspiracy.

“What they are doing now is anti-party activity. This is not the way to behave as these leaders have held important posts for decades and fully understand the challenges the party and the nation are grappling with. There is deep disappointment among the workers and muddling along like this will prove counter-productive.”

Another senior leader said: “This is brazen politics of blackmail. They want to weaken the Congress at this critical juncture only because their personal position is not secure.

“Let them break away if they want. When Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and other leaders are working hard to revive the Congress, they have stabbed Sonia Gandhi in the back. They have forgotten what the party gave to them; they are blinded by the lust for extracting some more pounds of flesh. No unity of purpose is possible now as all kinds of stories about their plans and nexus are floating around.”

While Rahul Gandhi on Monday completed his three-day tour of election-bound Tamil Nadu, Priyanka Gandhi embarked on a two-day journey of Assam where the Congress is struggling to snatch power from the BJP.

This is a new development in the party as Priyanka had so far restricted her election campaign to Uttar Pradesh and avoided touring other states. She did canvass a couple of times outside Uttar Pradesh but only for select candidates.

Priyanka is now scheduled to campaign in the elections across the country. Sources said her tour programme for Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Bengal is being worked out.

The G-23, on the other hand, are planning rallies in Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, to be followed by a public meeting in Delhi.

Former Union minister Anand Sharma, one of the architects of G-23, again attacked the leadership publicly on Monday by objecting to developments in Bengal.

Sharma tweeted: “Congress’ alliance with parties like ISF and other such forces militates against the core ideology of the party and Gandhian and Nehruvian secularism, which forms the soul of the party. These issues need to be approved by the CWC. Congress cannot be selective in fighting communalists but must do so in all its manifestations, irrespective of religion and colour. The presence and endorsement West Bengal PCC president is painful and shameful, he must clarify.”

Sharma has been speaking like a critic and a challenger despite his five-decade-long experience and knowledge of what party discipline means.

Interestingly, one of the G-23 members, former chief minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan on Monday accepted the responsibility of heading the screening committee for Assam, a body which shortlists candidates for election. This either indicates that the G-23 has crumbled or there is no clarity on the road ahead for these rebels.

The party is doubtless heading for a split as the loyalists have begun to lose respect for these veterans and have made up their mind to let them go. All they want now is the sooner the better, hoping to clear the debris for reconstruction before it gets too late for the next general election.