Jairam Ramesh said the Congress has to be the "fulcrum" of any Opposition alliance to take on the BJP in the 2024 general elections as it is the only political force with a pan-India presence.
Sibal, who quit the Congress last year, said the party's Kanyakumari to Kashmir Yatra "optically" seems to have succeeded and gotten the support of non-Congress elements as well.
The toast of the Congress for their tenacity and the difficult choices they made to fulfil a five-month political commitment, their stories are many.
Ramesh alleged that the PM "forced" Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to read a "most wishy-washy" statement in Parliament earlier this week
The party is very much united and working together, the AICC general secretary organisation said.
Chidambaram also stressed that there were lessons to be learnt by the Congress from the Gujarat loss, saying there is no such thing as a "silent" campaign in a hard-fought election.
The Congress on Thursday suffered its worst-ever defeat in Gujarat but appeared headed for a close win in Himachal Pradesh, a mixed bag result for the party that not only faces a rampaging Bharatiya Janata Party but an ambitious Aam Aadmi Party vying for the leadership of the Opposition going forward on the road to the 2024 general elections.
The Congress party may have its eyes firmly set on the Bharat Jodo Yatra, but it kept its fingers crossed as it waited for Thursday's counting of votes for the assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
'There may be some planted stories here or there, people trying to create manufactured controversies but the party is fully united. We will make sure the yatra is even more successful than it has been in other states'
The Bharat Jodo Yatra, Ramesh said, has been a "real booster dose" for the public relationship of the Congress.
Kharge launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the Himachal Pradesh poll schedule was announced but not of Gujarat so that the PM can inaugurate many more bridges like the one that collapsed in Gujarat's Morbi.
Asked about his remarks at the Udaipur chintan shivir earlier this year that the Congress' connect with the people had been broken, Gandhi insisted that he had stated that the connect had weakened.
Amid questions over his future, many political observers believe he has enhanced his political stature.
Also, with Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra not in the running for the party president's post, a non-Gandhi would be at the helm after over 24 years following the polling on Monday and counting on Wednesday.
Tharoor also said the Congress must decentralise authority and truly empower the grassroots office-bearers of the party.
Congress presidential candidate Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday claimed many electors have been instructed by 'their leaders' to support his rival but they may eventually vote for him in a secret ballot.
He said the answer to the Congress' current challenges lies in a combination of effective leadership and organisational reforms.
'In some quarters it has been suggested that there will be an 'official candidate' backed by the leadership but on the contrary, it has been repeatedly stressed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in my conversations with them over the last two weeks that the Nehru-Gandhi family welcomes these elections'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said he has made his decision on whether he will become the next party president and asserted that he will give his reasons if he does not contest.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, along with several party leaders, embarked on the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' from Kanyakumari on Thursday, marking the beginning of a challenging journey through which the party is seeking to reach out to people and rejuvenate its organisation.
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