New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has convened a meeting of the party’s working committee, the Congress’ highest decision-making body, at the AICC headquarters at New Delhi’s Akbar Road on December 21, just two days after the INDIA bloc meeting. The CWC will deliberate on the reasons for the debacle as the Congress had hoped to wrest Madhya Pradesh from the BJP and retain Chhattisgarh, where it suffered a shock defeat. The party has already held state-specific meetings to go into the reasons of the defeat.
Insiders say that the CWC will deliberate on the political situation in the country and the way forward. Seat-sharing and a joint campaign is likely to be at the top of the agenda, they added. The meeting is also likely to discuss the possibility of a yatra which Congress leader Rahul Gandhi could undertake before the 2024 polls, with unemployment and rising prices as its main planks, the sources said. The top leadership believes that the defeat, especially in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, where the party had a good chance to form the government but failed due to the state leadership's handling of affairs, has demoralised party workers and the CWC needs to provide a new direction and roadmap for them ahead of the Lok Sabha polls next year.
An east-to-west yatra in a hybrid mode, including on foot, is now under consideration by the party. A final decision is expected to be taken soon, they said. Once the CWC finalises its roadmap, sources said Mr Kharge may also make some major announcements at the December 28 Nagpur rally. The party is holding the mega rally on its foundation day.
The meeting is being held at a time when the main challenge facing the Congress is to come out with an alternative positive agenda to counter
the BJP in the next general election. There is a view in the party that it would need to think out of the box to take on the BJP in 2024.
