NEW DELHI: The Congress, in preparation for the 2024 general elections, has established a 16-member committee dedicated to drafting its manifesto. This committee is led by party member P Chidambaram.
Earlier in the day, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi held a strategic meeting with Sharad Pawar, focusing on the crucial topic of seat-sharing in Maharashtra for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
This meeting followed a united opposition protest at Jantar Mantar. Post-protest, Gandhi and Pawar retreated to Pawar’s residence at 6, Janpath for a private discussion. Their conversation is understood to have revolved around the allocation of seats among the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi partners, including the Shiv Sena (Udhav Balasaheb Thackeray), the Congress, and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Sharad Pawar, a seasoned NCP leader, expressed interest in including smaller parties like those from the Left, Peasants and Workers Party, and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi in the opposition coalition, owing to their localised influence in Maharashtra. He emphasised the importance of early finalisation of seat sharing agreements in Maharashtra, aiming to facilitate joint rallies for the coalition’s Lok Sabha election campaign.
As for the manifesto committee, T S Singhdeo, former Deputy Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, has been appointed its convenor. Other notable members include Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Anand Sharma, Shashi Tharoor, Jairam Ramesh, Gaurav Gogoi, Jignesh Mevani, and Gurdeep Sappal.
Post the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Friday, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal announced the party’s immediate shift to election mode. He confirmed the impending announcement of the manifesto committee and indicated that the selection of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls would be expedited with the formation of the screening committee this month.