Congress' top brass deliberates on polls strategy at extended CWC meeting

The Congress top brass deliberated on formulating a strategy for the upcoming Assembly and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as well as ways to strengthen the organization for a second day at an extended CWC meeting here on Sunday.

The first meeting of the reconstituted Congress Working Committee (CWC) took place on Saturday.

Besides regular members, permanent invitees and special invitees, the extended meeting of the apex decision-making body of the party included state party chiefs, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leaders, parliamentary party office-bearers and its Central Election Committee members.

The Congress will hold a mega rally in Tukkuguda near Hyderabad later in the day as the state celebrates Telangana National Integration Day, to mark the day on which the princely State of Hyderabad merged with the Indian Union in 1948.

At the rally, the party will announce six guarantees for the Telangana assembly elections.

While the Congress MPs would return to Delhi for the special session of Parliament after the rally, other leaders, CWC members, its state unit presidents and CLP leaders will branch out to the various assembly constituencies.

Gearing up for the upcoming Assembly and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress on Saturday made a strong pitch for social justice and resolved to make the opposition INDIA bloc an "ideological and electoral success" to free the country from "divisive politics".

After about five hours of deliberations at the first meeting of the reconstituted Congress Working Committee, the party had also called for the passage of the women's reservation bill in the upcoming special session of Parliament, conducting a caste census and increasing the limit of reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs.

The resolution also rejected the idea of "one nation, one election", calling it an attack on the federal structure.

The CWC, in a resolution adopted unanimously on Saturday, also reiterated the Congress' demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Adani issue and rejected any move to change the Constitution of the country.

It is after years that the CWC met outside of Delhi, a move seen as an attempt to consolidate the support base in poll-bound Telangana and go all out to oust the Bharat Rashtra Samithi from power in the state.

The CWC "wholeheartedly" welcomed the continuing consolidation of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) claiming it has already rattled Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP.

"The CWC reiterates the Congress party's resolve to make the INDIA (bloc) initiative an ideological and electoral success so that our country is freed from divisive and polarising politics, the forces of social equity and justice are strengthened, and the people get a Union Government that is responsible, responsive, sensitive, transparent and accountable," the resolution read.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had on August 20 reconstituted the CWC, retaining the old guard and giving space to the young in the 84-member body.

The CWC has 39 regular members, 32 permanent invitees and 13 special invitees. These include 15 women and several new faces such as Shashi Tharoor, Sachin Pilot and Gaurav Gogoi who are among the regular members.