Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge with party leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Ambika Soni, K C Venugopal and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury during the Congress Working Committee Meeting, at AICC headquarters, in New Delhi, Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: The Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Thursday put the party in “complete election mode” ahead of the Lok Sabha polls by deciding to choose its candidates at the earliest by setting up a Screening Committee this month and finalising a Manifesto Committee in two days.
The party is also going to appoint coordinators for all Lok Sabha seats and organise state-level conventions attended by senior leaders, including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. These initiatives are part of the ongoing poll preparatory meetings central leaders are conducting with state units.
The CWC decisions came as 76 leaders deliberated on the party's “disappointing performance” in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan but sought to find a silver lining with Kharge and some others emphasising that the party managed to hold on to its vote share despite the upsets.
Sources said Rahul Gandhi, however, was scathing in his assessment, saying that the leadership in the three states was overconfident and failed to provide accurate feedback to the central leadership. In contrast, he cited the victories in Karnataka and Telangana, emphasising that the leadership in these states was pragmatic in acknowledging and addressing shortcomings.
Rahul is learnt to have told the meeting the central leadership provided these leaders with a free hand on alliances and candidates as they painted a rosy picture, but that the actual reality on the ground turned out to be different.
Rahul is understood to have conveyed to the meeting that the central leadership provided these leaders with a free hand on alliances and candidates based on the rosy picture they projected. However, the actual reality on the ground turned out to be different.
Senior leader Digvijaya Singh, according to sources, criticised the decision to give Kamal Nath a free hand. Singh said that the central leadership changed in-charges frequently in Madhya Pradesh, and none of them could gel well with Kamal Nath.
There were also expectations regarding an announcement on the second edition of Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, this time from the country's east to its west. Kharge himself conveyed to Rahul and the 74 other leaders present at the meeting that he has been inundated with demands for such a yatra.
Some leaders raised concerns about whether the yatra might have a negative impact on election preparations and campaigns, given its potential two-month duration. However, there was a consensus that there should be a reach-out effort by Gandhi.
While Rahul did not respond to the appeal at the meeting, sources said an announcement was delayed as they were still working on the schedule and other logistics.
Preparations for Lok Sabha elections dominated the four-hour-long discussions, with Kharge setting the tone by saying the party has to win as many seats as possible by coordinating with like-minded parties and that they have learnt "valuable lessons from the mistakes made and are committed to avoiding a recurrence of them".
"Despite the results, there are some positive indicators, such as the vote share in these states, that gives us a definite hope that given due attention, we can certainly turn things around. Lok Sabha Elections are not too far, we don’t have much time left. I would urge everyone to concentrate on actionable points and the necessary steps that can be taken for the upcoming general elections," he told the leaders.
After the meeting, Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal told a press conference that the party remained "very strong" in the three states it lost recently, saying the loss was disappointing but the vote share there remained intact and there was no point worrying in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections.
Venugopal stated that in Telangana, the Congress was in the third position a year ago, having lost five consecutive bypolls, but eventually achieved a remarkable victory.
Kharge emphasised in the meeting that the party needs to decide on candidates "very soon and without delay." He also announced that a Screening Committee would be formed this month, and a Manifesto Committee would be announced in the next two days, as per Venugopal.
On potential alliances, including with the AAP, Venugopal said the party has constituted a National Alliance Committee and it would hold discussions with state units to find a mechanism to enter into coalitions. A resolution adopted at the meeting said the Congress is determined to take all steps to make I.N.D.I.A group an "effective bulwark"
A resolution adopted at the meeting condemned in "strongest possible terms" the suspension of 146 MPs in Parliament for demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah on Parliament security breach."
"The mood of the country now is against the BJP. We are very much convinced that Congress and I.N.D.I.A alliance will persist against this dictatorship" Venugopal said.
In response to questions about the Bharat Jodo Yatra, he stated, "The Congress president initially informed Rahul Gandhi that he was receiving suggestions from workers and leaders that Rahul should undertake a second yatra from east to west. Subsequently, all the CWC members unanimously also requested Rahul Gandhi to undertake the yatra. Details of the yatra and the decision regarding it will be made without any delay."