The first meeting of the reconstituted Congress Working Committee (CWC) will be held in Hyderabd on Saturday (September 16) to devise a strategy for the upcoming assembly elections in five states and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, as well as to send a message that the party would go all-out to destabilise the BRS government in Telangana. The brainstorming of the Congress top brass during the meeting would be a "game changer" and a "transformative moment" for Telangana politics and the grand old party, leaders said.
General secretaries K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh announced plans for the CWC meeting, which will be chaired by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, saying it is the first time in many years that the Congress' top decision-making body will hold deliberations for three days outside Delhi.
Venugopal announced that the CWC will meet on Saturday at 2.30 PM to discuss the strategy for the upcoming assembly and Lok Sabha elections. He expressed confidence that the Congress would form governments in the upcoming elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Mizoram.
Venugopal stated that an extended Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting will be held on Sunday, inviting all state party chiefs and CLP leaders, as well as Parliamentary Party office bearers and Central Election Committee members, to strategize on upcoming elections.
"We invited 159 people, and 147 of them are coming to the meeting on Sunday," he said. The meeting could also include a discussion about the viability of holding Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.
The party will hold a "mega rally" near Hyderabad on September 17 evening, which is Telangana National Integration Day, where it will announce six guarantees for the Telangana assembly election, he said.
"Tomorrow at 2:30 pm, we will hold the first CWC meeting. Congress President will be present. Former Congress Presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and all other Working Committee Members including permanent invitees and special invitees will participate. We have invited 90 people, but six of them have informed us about their inability due to the personal difficulties to attend. All other 84 people will attend, including our four chief ministers," Venugopal said, as quoted by news agency ANI.
The meeting also comes amid a raging controversy over DMK leaders' Sanatan Dharma remarks, and after over two dozen opposition parties formed the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) to challenge the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Venugopal stated that there will be "Vijay Bheri" of Telangana Congress and Indian National Congress on Sunday evening to herald the formation of its government there.
He stated that the party's members of Parliament will return to Parliament on September 18 to attend the session.
Ramesh stated that the meeting is being held outside of Delhi for the first time in many years in preparation for the upcoming elections.
He claimed that this will invigorate the party's rank and file in Telangana, which received a boost following the Bharat Jodo Yatra, and that this will yield positive results for the party in the upcoming elections by electing its government.
"We will make six promises to the people of Telangana. We hope that when the elections come, the party will receive a clear mandate from the people," Ramesh said, referring to the Sunday evening mega rally.
On August 20, Kharge reconstituted the CWC, retaining the old guard while making room for the young in the party's 84-member top decision-making body.
The CWC has 39 permanent invitees, 32 regular members, and 13 special invitees. Among the regular members are 15 women and several new faces, including Pilot and Gaurav Gogoi.