Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge with party leaders Rahul Gandhi and K.C. Venugopal during the extended Congress Working Committee meeting, in New Delhi, Saturday, June 8, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Congress will soon hold meetings to make "urgent remedial measures" in states where it did not perform to its strength, including in states that have "traditionally favoured" the party and where it won Assembly polls like Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh in recent times.
Besides these states, Congress also failed to open account in Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Uttarakhand "in the midst of overall revival and rejuvenation", as described in a resolution adopted at a three hour long meeting of the extended Congress Working Committee chaired by party president Mallikarjun Kharge here.
Kharge acknowledged the "revival" of the party but highlighted the setbacks it received in some states where Congress was strong. "While we celebrate the revival, we should pause a little as in some states we have not performed to our abilities and expectations. Further, we could not repeat our performance in states where we had previously done well in the Assembly elections and formed the government," he said.
"We will soon be holding separate discussions on each such state. We have to take urgent remedial measures. These are states which have traditionally favoured Congress, where we have opportunities which we have to harness not for our own advantage but for the benefit of our people," he said in his opening remarks.
Congress won 99 seats with improved performance in states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and north-east states.
The resolution adopted at the CWC said it would be "failing in its duty if it did not take note of the disappointing performance" in some states and "urgent steps" should and will be taken to "address the shortcomings" in the states where the party had "every reason to hope for a better result but where that expectation was not fulfilled".
"...while expressing its happiness at the Congress’s turnaround also acknowledges that many challenges remain. We have recovered and revived no doubt but we still have a long way to go to occupy the pre-eminent position the party once held in the nation’s political life," the resolution said.
"The people of India have spoken -- the Congress has been given another chance. It is now up to us to build on it. We must and we will. That is the solemn resolve of this meeting of the CWC. The Indian National Congress will continue to be steadfast in its commitment to social and economic justice and safeguarding the Constitution and its principles, values and provisions," it added.
Elaborating on the deliberations in the CWC, Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal told a press conference that the atmosphere in the CWC was "entirely different than the atmosphere four months ago". He said, "our workers are charged, leaders are charged and now the revival of the Congress has started. This is the sentiments of the CWC. Everybody thought that Congress is going to be finished, then what will happen."
The CWC resolution said the people have "decisively rejected both the substance and style of governance over the past decade" and the verdict is "not just a political loss but a personal and moral defeat for the Prime Minister who sought the mandate in his name and ran a campaign anchored in lies, hate, prejudice, divisiveness and extreme bigotry". The verdict of the people is clearly against the undermining of democracy and democratic institutions that has taken place since 2014, it added.
The resolution as well as Kharge's opening remarks spoke about the I.N.D.I.A. partners' performance with the party chief saying each party played its designated role in different states and each party contributed to the other. "Our determination is that the I.N.D.I.A. group must continue. We must function cohesively and collectively both in parliament and outside," he said.
The resolution also spoke about the contributions of Rahul's Bharat Jodo Yatra and Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra besides thanking the contributions of Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi.
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