Key lessons learnt from defeats, says Congress chief at CWC meeting

At a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Thursday, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge said the Congress has learnt important lessons from its defeats in the recent Assembly polls in the three Hindi heartland states and the party is committed to not repeating the mistakes in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

After the four-hour meeting, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said the party would now be in election mode, constituting its screening committee this month to select candidates and appoint a manifesto drafting committee. He said CWC members requested Rahul Gandhi to undertake a Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0 and a decision in this regard would be taken soon. However, some pointed out that the Yatra, planned from eastern India to the west in the second week of January, would come too close to the elections. Kharge said the decision on when to undertake the Yatra has been left to Rahul Gandhi.

The assembly election results were discussed at the CWC meet and the in-charges of Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh explained the performance, Venugopal said. Kharge said the party will soon appoint coordinators for each Lok Sabha seat.

Sources said election strategist Sunil Kanugolu, who assisted the Congress in the Karnataka and Telangana Assembly poll wins, would run the party’s Lok Sabha poll preparations from the party’s new election war room at 17, Gurudwara Rakab Ganj Road in the national capital.

"Despite the results, there are some positive indicators, such as the vote share in these states, that give us definite hope that given due attention, we can certainly turn things around,” Kharge said. The Congress president said the party has constituted a five-member panel that will engage with various parties in different states to conclude the INDIA bloc’s seat-sharing talks.

"The Lok Sabha elections are not too far, we don't have much time left. I would urge everyone to concentrate on actionable points and the necessary steps that can be taken for the upcoming general elections," the Congress chief said at the meeting.

On the suspension of opposition MPs, Kharge said it was part of a "conspiracy" to convert Parliament into a platform for the ruling party and to facilitate arbitrary passage of key bills without discussion or debate. He accused the BJP of trying to take over institutions, such as the Election Commission, and said the government has put the Constitution, the Parliament, and democracy in danger.