Key Takeaways
- The 16-member election committee was announced to guide Congress’s strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
- Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge reconstituted the CWC, adding leaders like Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
- A mega rally is planned in Hyderabad on September 17, followed by a statewide campaign across Telangana.
On Monday, September 4, the Congress announced a 16-member election committee for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The committee, constituted by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, includes the president himself and former party presidents.
Members such as Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Ambika Soni, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Uttar Pradesh leader Salman Khurshid, Chhattisgarh leader TS Sing Deo, Madhusudan Mistry, N Uttam Kumar Reddy, KJ George, Pritam Singh, Mohammad Jawed, Amee Yajnik, PL Punia, Omkar Markam, and KC Venugopal complete the lineup.
Earlier, on August 20, Kharge had reconstituted the top body of the Congress party, the Congress Working Committee (CWC), constituting 84 members, including Shashi Tharoor and Anand Sharma. This top decision-making body of the Congress was formed 10 months after Kharge took charge as the party president, and has 39 regular members, 32 permanent invitees, and 13 special invitees, including 15 women, and several new and young faces like Sachin Pilot and Gourav Gogoi, who are among the regular members.
It was also announced on Monday that a meeting of the newly constituted CWC has been convened on Saturday, September 16, in Hyderabad, which will be followed by a rally the next day.
The Congress General Secretary (Organization), KC Venugopal, addressing a press conference, said that on September 17, an extended CWC meeting will be held and it will include all Pradesh Congress Committee chiefs.
He further said that on the evening of September 17, which is celebrated as Telangana National Integration Day, the party will hold a ‘mega rally’ near Hyderabad, where it will announce five guarantees for Telangana, which is scheduled to go to polls late this year.
After the rally, the Congress president will flag off the cavalcade for all CWC members, invitees, PCC chiefs and CLP leaders, to visit each of the 119 Assembly constituencies of Telangana. ‘On September 18, apart from sitting MPs, all leaders will hold a karyakarta meeting and conduct door-to-door distribution of the charge sheet against the BRS government in the morning.’, stated Venugopal.
He added, ‘After lunch, they will interact with local influencers. The event will culminate with a march to a prominent statue of Mahatma Gandhi, BR Ambedkar or Komaram Bheem in the constituency.’
Congress General Secretary, Jairam Ramesh, was also present in the press conference.
Taking to X, Venugopal said, ‘We are geared up for every fight! Make no mistake, the Congress is unstoppable!’
The meeting will be held under the leadership of Kharge and in the presence of Congress parliamentary party chairperson, Sonia Gandhi and former party chief, Rahul Gandhi.
