The meeting of senior Congress leaders with Sonia Gandhi on Saturday is critical as the dissenting group has decided to stand firm on the issues they had raised, arguing that business as usual cannot be allowed after two successive defeats in parliamentary elections and the irreversible decline in Assembly and local polls across the country.

Sources in the so-called “Group of 23” that had written a controversial letter to Sonia on the drift in the party aver that their concerns should not be demeaned by describing it as a quarrel over leadership as their sole motive was revival of the Congress, an objective every party worker is concerned about.

“The issues we raised were fundamental, linked to the future of the party, and we stand vindicated by the pathetic performance in Bihar and the civic elections in Rajasthan and Hyderabad,” one of them told The Telegraph.

Conceding that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Kamal Nath and Ashok Gehlot had played a key role in arranging the meeting amidst the vacuum created by Ahmed Patel’s demise, these leaders argued that nothing could be gained by brushing the problems under the carpet and that a “candid assessment of the ground reality and our own infirmities” were the need of the hour.

They said they planned to go for a “frank discussion” at Saturday’s meeting as the Congress must be revived to give direction to the country in the wake of the “disastrous governance” of Narendra Modi.

Sources disclosed that it had been “specifically” suggested to Sonia that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka must be present at the meeting to avoid a communication gap and to ensure final agreement on the proposals and effective execution of the plan. They also wanted the group not to be extended to include “cheerleaders” that vitiates the atmosphere and prevents constructive discussions.

One leader said: “We are not going there to fight but to find a solution to the problems. Don’t forget that we had excellent rapport with the Gandhi-Nehru family and nobody should doubt our loyalty.”

The list of invitees include almost all the important leaders: Sonia, Rahul, Manmohan Singh, P. Chidambaram, Kamal Nath, Ashok Gehlot, A.K. Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari, Vivek Tankha, K.C. Venugopal, Prithviraj Chavan, Pawan Bansal and Priyanka.

While this group does not have general secretaries and younger Rahul loyalists, the presence of Manmohan, Antony, Chidambaram, Kamal Nath and Gehlot will ensure no side dominates and an objective assessment is made of the reasons for the crisis and the plan for the future. Sources say Chidambaram, Kamal Nath and Gehlot have a broad understanding of the problems and, unlike leaders like Antony, are not blindly dismissive of the questions raised by the “Group of 23”.

While the demand for a collective leadership mechanism and unity of purpose, instead of purge and elimination, is bound to dominate the discussions, Rahul’s role will also come under scrutiny. Without clarity on whether he is willing to return as party president or not, drawing up a future course of action will be impossible. There is a possibility that some blunt talk on his choice of people will be done at the meeting.

Congress communications chief Randeep Surjewala contested the perception that it would be a meeting of “rebels or dissenters”, asserting that every party colleague was valuable and their demand had already been conceded by announcing elections to the post of Congress president. He added that “99.5 per cent Congress workers” wanted Rahul, who fought the Narendra Modi regime fearlessly, to return as party president.