Congress To Discuss Organisational Elections In Meeting On Saturday Amid Calls For Internal Reforms

The G-23 leaders of the Congress have been calling for internal reforms including organisational elections in the party. 

Congress MP KC Venugopal (ANI Photo)

New Delhi: The Congress has called a meeting of General Secretaries and in-charges on Saturday to discuss a range of issues including organisational elections.

The meeting will be chaired by General Secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal and will have All India Congress Committee General Secretaries and in-charges in attendance.

The Agenda for the meeting includes, "Special Membership Drive, Organizational Elections and Planning agitational programmes", news agency ANI reported.

The G-23 leaders of the Congress have been calling for internal reforms including organisational elections in the party. 

On Tuesday, Congress president Sonia Gandhi met G23 leaders Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari, and Vivek Tankha at her residence in New Delhi in a bid to resolve the deepening rift within the party after the poll debacle in fives states in the recently concluded assembly elections.

While G-23 leaders pressed for organisational changes in the meeting, Sonia Gandhi reportedly said that the requisite measures will be taken after the elections for party president in August-September.

"By August-September, the election for party's president will be over. Focus on that. I can make changes only to a certain extent by then," ANI sources quoted Sonia Gandhi as saying.

The interaction was part of a series of meetings that the Congress top leadership is having with the leaders who have raised critical organisational issues and have suggested measures to revamp the party.

According to news agency PTI, there are indications that some of the G-23 leaders may be accommodated in the Congress Working Committee or a new body like the Parliamentary Board, which will be responsible for all policy decisions such as finalising chief ministerial candidates and alliances with like-minded parties in states.

Recently, Congress faced a debacle in five states' elections including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand Goa, Manipur, and Punjab.

Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat will see assembly polls later this year.