With eye on 2024 elections, Congress Prez Sonia Gandhi announces task force

With an eye on the 2024 general elections, the Congress party on Monday announced the formation of several panels.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi constituted a Political Affairs Group, which will be presided over by her, a Task Force-2024, a Central Planning Group for the coordination of the "Bharat Jodo Yatra" with immediate effect, the All-India Congress Committee announced. The decision comes after the party conclave (Nav Sankalp Shivir) was held in Udaipur earlier this month.

Apart from Sonia, the Political Affairs Group comprises ex-Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge, Rajya Sabha MPs Ambika Soni, Digvijaya Singh, and K C Venugopal. 

The group also comprises two members of the rebel group commonly referred to as G-23, Ghulam Nabi Azad, and Anand Sharma.

Meanwhile, the Task Force-2024 constitutes Rajya Sabha MP and former Union finance minister P Chidambaram, ex-MPs Mukul Wasnik and Jairam Ramesh. It also comprises Rajya Sabha MP KC Venugopal, Congress' UP in-charge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, AICC general secretaries Ajay Maken and Randeep Singh Surjewala, and Sunil Kanugolu. 

Each member of the Task Force shall be assigned specific tasks related to the organisation, communications and media, outreach, finance, and election management, AICC said in a statement. 

Meanwhile, Congress' Central Planning Group comprises Digvijaya Singh, Rajasthan MLA Sachin Pilot, Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, party's Lok Sabha whip Ravneet Singh Bittu, Karnataka MLA KJ George, Lok Sabha MP Jothi Mani. The group also has Lok Sabha MP Pradyut Bordoloi, Madhya Pradesh MLA Jitu Patwari, and Karnataka MLA Saleem Ahmed.

Congress' decision comes days after Patidar leader Hardik Patel quit the party, months ahead of Gujarat assembly polls, saying that the top leaders did not have a roadmap for the state. In his resignation, Patel wrote, “Whenever our country faced challenges and when the Congress needed leadership, Congress leaders were enjoying abroad... Congress today has been rejected in almost every state of India because the party and its leadership have not been able to present a basic roadmap to the people."