Congress party president Sonia Gandhi on Friday met senior party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is also a member of party's "Group of 23".
Congress president Sonia Gandhi in her outreach to the G-23 leaders met party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad. The G-23 has been demanding revamp in the Congress organisational structure.
Congress party president Sonia Gandhi on Friday met senior party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is also a member of party's "Group of 23".
Azad on Friday said he conveyed to Sonia suggestions to strengthen the party. He added it was a good meeting with the discussion centred on how to prepare and fight unitedly the forthcoming assembly polls to take on rival parties.
Playing down the meeting, Azad told reporters that it "may be news for you but we keep meeting the Congress president at various intervals".
He added, "Mrs Gandhi keeps having discussions with leaders to strengthen the organisation. A few days ago, the working committee had met and suggestions were asked as to how to strengthen the Congress party and what were the reasons for the defeat [in five assembly polls]. I had also given my suggestions."
However, Azad added it is not possible to record and remember all suggestions.
He further said he reiterated suggestions to strengthen the Congress organisation.
The meeting comes a day after members of the G-23 held a flurry of meetings to deliberate the revamp of the party.
After the G-23 called for a "collective and inclusive leadership and decision-making at all levels" in their meeting on Wednesday, G-23 member Bhupinder Singh Hooda met Rahul Gandhi on Thursday and the two leaders were learnt to have discussed a revamp of the party organisation, a key demand of G-23 members.
The meetings are being seen as an attempt by the Gandhi family to reach out to the G-23, which has shown signs of increasing aggression on the leadership issue after Congress party's abject loss in the assembly elections in five states.
Earlier on Friday, Azad also met veteran Congress leader Karan Singh and said he came to greet Singh on Holi.
Rahul Gandhi, a former Congress president, had called Hooda for a discussion on the political situation in Haryana. However, the discussion spilled over to the party's abysmal performance in the elections.
Sonia Gandhi had earlier reached out to Azad on Wednesday ahead of the G-23 dinner meeting at his residence.
The leaders of the grouping have since held a series of meetings at Azad's residence.
The party leadership wants to resolve the differences with the G-23 and is reaching out to its leaders. It is learnt to have deputed some senior leaders for parleys with the dissenting group to resolve the differences, sources told PTI.
With PTI inputs