Kharge Calls Crucial Meet On May 24 As Congress Eyes Upcoming Polls In 5 States After K’taka Victory

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has called a crucial meet of state leaders of five states on May 24 where polls are due in next few months.

The Congress party is in full spirits as it now prepares for upcoming assembly elections in other states after a stunning victory in Karnataka. The focus has now shifted to the five states where polls are set to take place before next year’s general elections.  To discuss poll strategies, the party has convened a meeting of state leaders on May 24. And as can be understood, these elections will set the ground for the Lok Sabha polls. 

Notably, Congress is locked in a direct contest with the BJP in some states which will be crucial for the grand old party to boost the morale of workers. The assembly elections are due in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram in the next few months. 

Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are being ruled by the Congress where the party is hoping to use the anti-incumbency factor to replicate the 'Karnataka strategy'. The party is also eyeing to make a comeback in Madhya Pradesh where it lost power after Jyotiraditya Scindia and some of the MLAs switched loyalties. 

News agency reported citing sources that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has called a meeting of its leaders from Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh on May 24 to strategise on the upcoming assembly elections. 

The agency reported that Kharge will hold separate meetings with the state leaders. As per PTI, a senior leader said the idea is to chalk out an early strategy to reach out to the grassroots level. 

"The Bharat Jodo Yatra, which passed through states like Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, will benefit the party as the cadres are already activated and the party will get the benefit of the Yatra, as it did in Karnataka," a senior leader involved with one of the states told PTI. 

Another leader said the good schemes and works initiated by the Congress governments in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh will be highlighted in a massive way, reported PTI.  

It is pertinent to note that Congress faces challenges in several of these states, especially due to infighting and factionalism. 

The party has to tackle the continuous feud between Sachin Pilot and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan where Sachin Pilot has threatened to launch an agitation if his demands were not met by May end, PTI stated in its report. 

In Chhattisgarh, PTI reported, there is an open fight between Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and state minister T S Singh Deo, who has been staking claim to the top post in the state. 

Similar is the situation in Telangana where its state unit chief Revanth Reddy faces infighting from state leaders who consider him an outsider. 

Congress is in a direct contest with the BJP in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, while Telangana awaits a triangular battle among the Congress, BJP and the ruling BRS.