The Congress will be fully prepared for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and will take steps to make the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) an “effective bulwark and force” against the BJP and its allies, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) said in a resolution on Thursday.
Condemning the suspension of INDIA bloc MPs from Parliament in the “strongest possible terms,” the resolution alleged that the suspensions were carried out “to ensure that the Opposition was not present to challenge the Narendra Modi Government as it bulldozed three draconian criminal justice laws through”.
Briefing reporters at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters after the four-hour meeting of the CWC, general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal said that the party will get into the election mode soon and Lok Sabha candidates would be decided with the constitution of the screening committee this month. He added that the manifesto committee for the Lok Sabha polls would be announced in a day or two.
In his opening remarks, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge told former party chief Rahul Gandhi that several leaders and workers wanted him to undertake the second edition of the Bharat Jodo Yatra on the East-West route.
Mr. Venugopal told reporters that a decision in this regard would be taken soon and the details would be worked out.
The political importance of Ram Mandir inauguration at Ayodhya next month was also raised in the meeting, said sources.
Performance review
Inside the closed-door meeting, the AICC in-charges of Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh gave detailed presentations. However, the debacle in Madhya Pradesh came under a sharp focus, with Mr. Gandhi pointing out that the State leaders had given an assessment of winning over 140 seats in the 230-member Assembly.
When AICC in-charge for M.P., Randeep Surjewala, said that the Congress couldn’t match the BJP’s organisational strength at the booth and block level, Mr. Gandhi disagreed. He is said to have pointed out that while Congress’s vote share remained intact, the BJP gained at the cost of smaller regional players — tribal parties, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and others.
“Rahul ji pointed out that we didn’t pay attention on this segment of votes that went away while our vote share remained the same,” said a CWC member, adding that Mr. Gandhi was confident about Congress bouncing back in the Lok Sabha polls.
Senior CWC member Mukul Wasnik questioned the effectiveness of Kamal Nath’s leadership in M.P. despite being projected as the chief ministerial face. Some other members also pointed out that holding public programmes like reciting Hanuman chalisa wasn’t Congress’s style.
Chhattisgarh’s in-charge, Kumari Selja, without taking former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel’s name, pointed out that the State leadrship had not been open to suggestions made by the AICC.
In Rajasthan, the issue of not changing incumbent MLAs and not having an alliance with the CPI(M) and the tribal party for the seats bordering Gujarat was discussed.
Mr. Venugopal informed the CWC that the AICC had mostly left the decision-making in the three Hindi heartland States to the State leadership.
Planning ahead
Stressing on the need to declare candidates early, Shashi Tharoor is said to have argued that three weeks was not enough for a candidate to prepare for an election and the potential candidates should be informed much in advance.
Several members also appreciated the ongoing crowdfunding initiative, Donate for Desh, and said that it would add strength to the “anti-corruption and anti-cronyism” narrative that the party wants to focus on.
On the Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0, several members suggested that it should be on hybrid mode as Mr. Gandhi cannot walk the entire distance, with elections barely four months away.
