NEW DELHI: At the first meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) after the party’s dismal performance in three Hindi heartland states, the top brass on Thursday asserted that the party will be fully prepared at the earliest to fight the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. Candidates for the Lok Sabha polls would be decided soon with the setting up of a screening committee this month.
After a four-hour meeting, top leaders said the party would take all necessary steps to make the INDIA bloc an effective bulwark and force against the BJP and its allies. The CWC meeting was presided over by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. In his opening remarks, Kharge said that though the outcome of the recent elections was disappointing, the party will try to correct the wrongs and work on new strategies.
Referring to the December 19 INDIA meet, he said it was unanimously agreed that seat-sharing must start immediately. To facilitate this, a five-member National Alliance Committee has been set up by the party to engage with various parties in different states. In a resolution, the party alleged the suspension of MPs from Parliament was to ensure the Opposition was not present to challenge the government “as it bulldozed three draconian criminal justice laws”.
However, sources said there was no discussion on Kharge as the PM face for alliance as proposed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the INDIA meet. Briefing reporters, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said Kharge conveyed public sentiments to Rahul’s second leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra from East to West.