The deadlock over Rahul Gandhi’s resignation persisted in spite of desperate Congress workers pleading for his continuance and insisting that no other leader can either sustain the Congress or rebuild the political resistance to Narendra Modi’s overwhelming dominance.

Senior leaders appear reconciled to the eventuality of a new president with Rahul remaining as principal leader. But ordinary workers fear a further downslide in case of dual power centres and expressed deep suspicion about “strategists” and “advisers” who they see as villains.

Some anger is doubtless targeted at Rahul for retaining “incompetent” and “suspect” office-bearers but none appeared to want him to step aside.

Surprisingly, despite the crushing setback, many ordinary workers from different states feel it is Rahul, not even Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who has the grit and commitment to lift the party out of the abyss.

Rahul’s refusal to reconsider his decision has left the rank and file crestfallen but the crisis has also underscored his importance for future political battles.

Some Congress supporters ran a campaign on social media with hashtags like ‘IStandWithRahulGandhi’ and ‘WeNeedYouRahulJi’. Some state units passed resolutions requesting Rahul to take back his resignation and many state chiefs also issued appeals.

Gujarat unit chief Amit Chavda tweeted: “We may have lost this election but we need his guidance to continue the fight against people in power and against their anti-poor, anti-farmer, anti-youth and anti-women policies.”

Kerala MP and Professional Congress chief Shashi Tharoor told PTI in an interview: “Rahul Gandhi is the best person to pull the Congress out of its predicament. The Congress has no time to sit and lick

its wounds as it must immediately pick itself up for the upcoming state elections. The Congress still represents the only credible national alternative to the BJP and it will take its message to the country, hopefully under Rahul’s leadership.”

Tharoor added: “The Nehru-Gandhi family will continue to command great clout and respect within the party. Rahul will easily beat any other interested candidate by a landslide if the party decides to hold a free and fair election tomorrow for the position of party president. That is the kind of place he has built in the hearts of the rank and file of the Congress party and therefore, to my mind, he still undoubtedly remains the best person to lead.”

However, the seething rage against the team that led the party in the electoral battle is palpable. Most leaders and party workers have nasty tales to tell about the incompetence and mischief of office-bearers and advisers who failed to contribute substantially as Rahul and Priyanka waged a fiery battle on the ground. The communication was so bad that the NYAY (minimum income guarantee) scheme failed to generate any ripples.

While most leaders avoided running the risk of talking on record, some took to Twitter to give vent to their frustration.

The party’s candidate from Lucknow, Acharya Pramod Krishnam, tweeted: “Every leader who describes Rahul’s team as ‘non-political coterie’ has his own coterie. They never supported Rahul by heart.”

Many office-bearers are often accused of promoting their cronies and protecting undeserving people. Even Rahul faces this charge of showing obstinacy in protecting people whom he likes.

One senior worker from Bihar said, “Jab tak luta na de, logon ko hatate nahin (Rahul doesn’t remove a office-bearer till he or she doesn’t destroy everything).”

Some workers complained that he relied blindly on state leaders, chief ministers and general secretaries.

Former AICC secretary Pankaj Sharma said in a series of tweets: “Defaulters don’t deserve the luxury of offering resignations. They need to be sacked. Not they, millions of workers like me gave their sweat to make them so big. Barring a few, most of these beneficiaries are traitors. Rather than punishing himself for the blunders of others, Rahul Gandhi must ctrl+alt+del (sack) Working Committee, PCCs, DCCs, frontal (outfits) in one go. Reformat the basic hard disk. Change all CMs. Remove all useless cookies and threads to increase speed and performance.”

Contending that the mistake of restructuring in instalments should not be repeated and all those who were driven by vested interests and betrayed Rahul should be sacked forthwith, Sharma tweeted: “No one can raise a finger on Rahul Gandhi’s performance and the required killing instinct in a political battle, especially, in past two years. But for Rahul’s intensity, the Congress would have vanished. He toiled day and night to fight a battle in most challenging circumstances.”

Officially, the party betrayed no sign of turmoil with spokesperson Pawan Khera telling a media conference: “All speculation is meaningless after the Congress Working Committee resolution.” That seeks to suggest that Rahul has agreed to continue and the chapter is closed.

Ironically, another spokesperson Ragini Naik tweeted with hashtag ‘WeNeedYouRahulJi’: “Rahul ji, you said we have to defeat politics of hate, violence and divisiveness by love, harmony and unity. Ideological battles are invariably long. The path is difficult and we need you to reach the destination.”