BENGALURU : The Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting in New Delhi that deliberated on the selection of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha also discussed the party’s poor performance in certain states that had done well in the Assembly elections, especially Karnataka.
AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge said the party high command will soon hold a meeting to discuss the party’s performance in states separately. The SC/ST/OBC and minority voters backed the party in rural areas, but not in urban pockets and efforts are needed to attract these voters, he observed.
AICC General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal told the media that Kharge will set up committees to analyse the results in all the states where the performance has not been up to the mark, including those ruled by Congress.
The Congress high command, which has become strong, is likely to deal with its state units with an iron hand, political analysts said. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah could be asked to reshuffle his cabinet and some ministers could be dropped if they were proved to have worked tacitly with BJP candidates despite Congress having an edge in those constituencies, they added.
Siddaramaiah refused to divulge the details of the CWC meeting, while Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar avoided addressing the media. But on their return from the national capital they are likely to set up a committee, as advised by the high command, to review the Lok Sabha results in the state, including the performance of 18 ministers in the Siddaramaiah cabinet.
Senior leader and MLC BK Hariprasad, who attended the CWC meeting, was among those who backed party senior leader Rahul Gandhi as the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha.