Eeshna Dashottar, Pune
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) is organizing meetings in Hyderabad, Telangana from 16th September 2023 to discuss the party’s strategy for the upcoming 2024 general elections, elections to five state assemblies and INDIA alliance plans.
AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge will be presiding over the session, with notable Congress leaders in the event. This is the first time that a CWC meeting has been organized outside Delhi, with the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) as an important background context to the discussions expected in this meeting.
The reconstituted CWC, comprising 39 regular members, 32 permanent invitees, and 13 special invitees, will be attending the event, along with the presence of State Congress chiefs, Party chief ministers, CLP leaders, Central Election Committee and Parliamentary Party office-bearers expected to attend the extended meeting on Sunday, 17th September 2023. Some of the prominent leaders attending the meeting include Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, Telangana Congress chief A Revanth Reddy and AICC General Secretaries KC Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh.
The official agenda of this meeting, as informed to the CWC members, is the discussion on ‘the current political situation in the country’ and ‘elections’. Other than these, it is also expected that the meetings will involve discussions over several detailed matters. The election strategy for the upcoming 2024 general elections remains one of the main matters under discussion. Plans for the role of Congress in the INDIA alliance, and the seat-sharing arrangements are to be brought to the table in this meeting. Congress’ place in Telangana politics, with the main focus on the competitor party Bharat Rashtra Samithi led by K Chandrashekar Rao, is also on the checklist of discussion, as the state elections are expected to take place around December 2023. Discussions on the upcoming state elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram are also expected in this meeting. Another issue likely to be discussed is the proposal for Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0 to be led by Rahul Gandhi. Special Parliament sessions from September 18 to 22 and one-nation one-election proposal are also among the list of issues to be taken up in this meeting.
The first meeting, held on 16th September, commenced with a flag hoisting ceremony. Mallikarjun Kharge took to the stage and spoke about the current political scenario of the country, commenting on varied matters such as the Manipur and Nuh violence, woes and worries of the farmers and labourers, rising inflation and unemployment in the nation, the role of Congress as the main opposition party and hopes for the INDIA alliance. An extended meeting is scheduled to happen on 17th September, followed by a large-scale public rally. It is expected that six guarantees for the Telangana assembly elections will be announced in this rally.