In 3-day huddle, Congress aims to find party's new direction

A decision on whether there would be election to the CWC will be taken at a meeting of the Steering Committee on Friday, February 24

Around 15,000 Congress delegates are headed to Raipur for the ‘Haath se Haath Jodo’ Plenary Session to brainstorm for three days (starting Friday) to give a new direction to the party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections while asserting its central role in a united Opposition apparatus.

The party has already made it clear that it is not going to cede its pole position to any other outfit and keep the leadership question hanging to be decided in post-poll days. Party president Mallikarjun Kharge has said that an alliance government will come to power in 2024 and the Congress will lead it.

The Raipur Plenary is likely to find a way to not to anger other parties while asserting leadership, as some are not comfortable with Congress becoming the ‘big brother’.

The task before the party will be to make non-BJP parties “comfortable and feel respected”, as former party president Rahul Gandhi put it during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, while making it clear that only Congress has the national outlook or a central ideology to take on the BJP. However, Rahul’s attack on Trinamool Congress and its counter-attack on Wednesday has made the task difficult.

Read | BJP like a 'class bully', respects no one: Rahul Gandhi

Kharge will give his roadmap for the party in his presidential address on Saturday while the political resolution and discussions regarding the same will give it a final touch.

Apart from a united front against the BJP, the Congress will also look within during the Plenary, which is taking place after the Bharat Jodo Yatra, to overhaul the organisation to make it battle-ready and bring more fresh faces to the leadership. It will review the implementation of the decisions of the Udaipur Chintan Shivir.

It is also to be seen whether the party amends its constitution to make former party presidents and former prime ministers get a permanent seat in the Congress Working Committee (CWC).

One of the most anticipated questions is whether there would be an election to the CWC. As of now, the indications are that an overwhelming majority of the leaders are against an election and want the Plenary to authorise the president to nominate CWC members.

Their argument is that an election would be divisive and could flare up factionalism just before Assembly elections and Lok Sabha polls. All eyes are on whether Shashi Tharoor, who contested against Kharge for the president's post, will have a seat in CWC.

While he has ruled himself out of a contest, sources said there could be some drama in the Plenary if there is no signal about Tharoor getting a seat at the high table. Interestingly, Kharge and Tharoor travelled together to Nagaland on Tuesday for an election campaign.

A decision on whether there would be election to the CWC will be taken at a meeting of the Steering Committee on Friday morning, the first day of the Plenary. The Steering Committee will be followed by a Subjects Committee where the draft resolutions on various subjects are cleared.

Read | Rahul Gandhi to campaign in Meghalaya, Kharge in Nagaland

The discussion on resolutions will take place on Saturday and Sunday. The session will conclude on Saturday afternoon followed by a rally at 4 pm.

Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi may make a brief speech during the session while Rahul Gandhi is likely to speak on Sunday.

Of the 15,000 delegates, 1,338 are elected while another 487 are co-opted AICC delegates, 9,915 are Pradesh Congress Committee delegates and another 3,000 co-opted PCC delegates. These also include all district presidents, bharat yatris and office bearers of frontal organisations.

The break of the composition of the AICC delegates, which includes 1,338 who have voting rights to choose the Congress Working Committee if an election takes place, showed that 704 are from general category, 228 from minority communities, 381 from Other Backward Classes, Dalits 192 and 133 tribals. Among them, 235 are women and 501 delegates are below the age of 50 years.