In preparation for the 2024 Lok Sabha election and upcoming Assembly elections in pivotal states, the newly constituted Congress Working Committee (CWC) will convene in Hyderabad over the weekend. Key topics for deliberation include addressing current economic and political challenges, uniting the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties, and gearing up for electoral battles.
Over the two-day brainstorming session, significant attention will be directed towards the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Mizoram.
Current economic and political concerns, such as inflation, unemployment, the situation in strife-torn Manipur, recent allegations against the Adani Group, and the recent terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, will also be on the agenda.
On Saturday, 84 CWC members, including both permanent and special invitees, as well as Chief Ministers from four Congress-governed states, will participate in discussions within the Congress party’s highest decision-making body.
The extended CWC meeting on September 17 will see the participation of 147 party members, including Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chiefs and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leaders, who have been invited to join the deliberations.
With a specific focus on the upcoming Telangana Assembly election, the party’s top leadership will not only hold a public rally on the outskirts of Hyderabad but will also introduce guarantees similar to those in Karnataka.
The CWC meeting in Telangana is the first to take place after more than two dozen parties collaborated over the past four months to form the INDIA bloc, aimed at challenging the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
K.C. Venugopal, Congress general secretary (organisation), stated, “After the Bharat Jodo Yatra and the formation of the INDIA alliance, the political situation in the country is changing gradually, and you will see it in 2024.”
Party leaders hinted at discussions about the second edition of the Bharat Jodo Yatra and a joint plan of action for the INDIA bloc to collectively oppose the BJP. However, these plans are likely to take shape only after the five-day Special Session of Parliament between September 18 and 22 concludes.
Despite the government’s agenda including discussions on the 75-year parliamentary journey from the Constituent Assembly (Samvidhan Sabha) and several bills, including one related to the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners, opposition parties expressed concerns that last-minute agendas could be introduced.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge reconstituted the CWC on August 20, with several new faces like Shashi Tharoor, Sachin Pilot, Manish Tewari, and Gaurav Gogoi being inducted as members. The CWC, the party’s highest decision-making body, comprises 39 regular members, 32 permanent invitees, and 13 special invitees, including 15 women.
