VIJAYAWADA: The crucial meeting of the Congress in New Delhi that reviewed the AP party affairs on Wednesday decided to activate its machinery for the 2024 general elections. “Mission Andhra starts now,” it declared.
The coordination committee meeting attended by Rahul Gandhi and others decided to activate the party’s campaign for Special Category Status for AP and grant of Special Package to the backward north coastal and Rayalaseema districts. Significantly, it also called upon those who have left the party in the past to return to the Congress fold.
The meeting also saw the presence of general secretary KC Venugopal, state observer Manickam Tagore, APPC chief Gidugu Rudra Raju, N Raghuveera Reddy etc. In specific, they discussed the party’s preparations for the upcoming AP Assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
Rudra Raju invited Kharge, Rahul, and Priyanka Gandhi for three separate meetings in AP in January. The meeting went on for more than two hours.
Addressing the media after the meeting, AP Congress spokesperson Manickam Tagore said, “The party had extended an open invitation to those who share the Congress ideology and have departed over time to return to the party fold.”
He alleged that the central government neglected the state over the past decade.
“Congress is ready for the battle of 2024. Mission Andhra starts now. The coming year will be a year of the Congress in Andhra Pradesh. The Bharat Jodo Yatra has rejuvenated the Congress. The Bharat Nyay Yatra from Manipur to Mumbai will be historic for the Congress," Tagore said.
Taking to X (Twitter), Congress president Mallikajun Kharge emphasised the significance of the meeting. "Everyone believes that the ground situation has drastically changed after the government formation in Karnataka and Telangana. Every leader and worker is going to work hard to re-establish the bond that the people of Andhra Pradesh once shared with the Congress party," remarked Kharge.
AICC secretaries CD Meyyappan, Christopher Tilak, party senior leaders Kanumuri Bapi Raju, Chintha Mohan, APCC working presidents Sunkara Padmasri, Janga Gowtham, Mastan Vali and others participated in the coordination committee meeting.
