After cementing its pivotal role in anti-BJP national politics by securing 99 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the top leadership of Congress is on Saturday doing crucial deliberations on poll results to chalk out its future strategy at a meeting of the party’s working committee. The extended meeting of the party’s top decision-making body — the Congress Working Committee (CWC) — is underway at Hotel Ashok in New Delhi.
The Congress’ top brass, including party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, besides other leaders are participating in the deliberations.
During the meeting, a unanimous demand was raised to make Rahul Gandhi the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
CWC Opening Remarks
In his opening remark, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said, “I want to draw your attention to the fact that wherever Bharat Jodo Yatra went we saw an increase in the vote percentage and number of seats for the Congress party.”
“In Manipur, we won both the seats. We also won seats in Nagaland, Assam, and Meghalaya. In Maharashtra, we emerged as the single-largest party. People from all walks of life supported the Congress party to save the country’s democracy and constitution. Other than this, we saw an increase in seats dominated by SC, ST, OBC, and Minority voters as well as in Rural areas. Going forward, we have to make our presence felt in urban areas as well,” he said at the extended CWC meet.
He further said that while the party is celebrating its revival, Congress leaders and workers 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 Vidhan Sabha elections and formed the government…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. This exercise I propose to hold very soon,” he said.
He further emphasised that party leaders must be disciplined and united as “the People have reposed their faith back in us in substantial measures and we must build on it. We accept this verdict with genuine humility.”
“I will be failing in my duty if I don’t acknowledge the INDIA Alliance partners, in which each party played its designated role in different states, each party contributed to the other,” he added.
Top Agendas Of Meeting
During the meeting, the party is likely to deliberate on the name for the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. This will be the first time that the Congress, since its ouster from power in 2014, will get the post of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
It failed to get the position in the past 10 years as its tally was below the requisite 10 per cent of total seats in the House, both in 2014 and 2019.
A section within the party strongly feels that former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi should take over as leader of the party and opposition in the Lok Sabha.
When asked if Rahul Gandhi is ready to take charge as LoP in Lok Sabha, Congress leader Veerappa Moily said, “He has to take charge of the LoP. After all, the people want him there. INDIA team and Congress people also want him there.”
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also echoed Moily’s sentiments and said, “I am very much in favour. It’s a very important proposal but he has to decide in the end.”
Rahul Gandhi won both the Wayanad and Rae Bareli seats in the elections and will have to decide within 14 days which seat he will hold and which he will vacate. He will have to make a decision before the oath-taking ceremony, likely to take place next week.
Senior party leaders and members of the CWC, along with Congress Legislature Party leaders and Pradesh Congress Committee presidents from various states, will also analyse the party’s performance and suggest measures to strengthen the organisation.
Talking about the agenda of the meeting, Veerappa Moily said, “We need to discuss many things – the manner in which the Congress and also INDIA scored a very high percentage of votes and also the seats.”
“Of course, we should have won and captured the power and Rahul Gandhi should have become the Prime Minister of this country. But we missed it. But now, Narendra Modi is not that great, he has been totally pulled down in terms of popularity, in terms of vote share. I think we are marching forward, and if not today, tomorrow the Congress – under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi – has to come back,” he added.
Congress Parliamentary Party Meeting Today
Kharge, who has convened the meeting, will also host a dinner for all extended CWC members and party MPs at the hotel.
The party MPs will elect the new Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson at this meeting. Sonia Gandhi is likely to be re-elected as CPP Chairperson.
A meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party comprising all newly-elected MPs of the Lok Sabha and those of the Rajya Sabha will be held in the Central Hall of Parliament at 5.30 pm, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said.
“The 2024 elections have been a moral defeat for Narendra Modi and the BJP while being a morale booster for the Indian National Congress and the INDIA Janbandhan. The extended Congress Working Committee is meeting at 11 am today and the Congress Parliamentary Party will meet at 5.30 pm,” Ramesh posted on X.
Congress Performance In Lok Sabha Polls
The Congress has emerged as a strong force in Parliament after the elections and the party is looking forward to cornering the government on issues concerning the common people, including price rise and unemployment, in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
It emerged as the second-largest party in the Lok Sabha, improving its tally to 99 from 52 in the 2019 elections.
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