CWC meeting today, Congress to address hiccups of state units over INDIA seat-sharing

Congress sources said the party would have preferred waiting for the outcome of the coming Assembly elections in five states, as a good show there would give it more bargaining power. But given the pressure over seat-sharing from other parties, the leadership will discuss the issue with state leaders.

On Saturday, the CWC will be holding a meeting, its first since it was reconstituted and since the INDIA alliance was formed. The next day, for the extended meeting, state Congress chiefs, party Chief Ministers and CLP leaders have been invited.

The Congress expects pushback from its Punjab, Delhi and West Bengal units. In the first two states, the party leaders are dead against the Aam Aadmi Party, which has eaten into the Congress share there, while in West Bengal, the state leadership is in direct contest with the Trinamool Congress. The Congress leadership is also gearing up for some hard bargaining in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

Officially, the agenda of the CWC meeting circulated to members is discussions on “the current political situation in the country” and “elections”.

Another issue likely to figure is the demand by leaders that Rahul Gandhi embark on another Yatra. Those close to him insist that he will indeed go on a Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0 closer to the Lok Sabha elections – that is, after the Assembly polls. However, a section of the party believes he should hit the road as soon as possible.

The CWC meeting is happening against the backdrop of the BJP raising tempo against the INDIA alliance on the Sanatan Dharma controversy. On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi weighed in, accusing the alliance of seeking to “destroy” Sanatan Dharma and urging people to be vigilant against “attacks on us across the country”.

Heartland states Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are among those headed for elections, and a section of the party leaders there are worried about the impact of the BJP campaign on the issue in their states.

Party leaders privy to internal surveys say that the race in Rajasthan, which is known to alternate between the Congress and BJP in power, is close; that in Chhattisgarh, the Congress is marginally ahead; and that in Madhya Pradesh, it is better placed. In Telangana, party leaders say the Congress is gaining momentum fast – one reason for the decision to hold the conclave in Hyderabad.

It is rare for the Congress to hold a CWC meeting outside Delhi.

On Sunday, after the CWC meeting ends, the Congress will hold a rally in Hyderabad, where it will announce six poll guarantees for the state – which proved a game changer in the Karnataka elections in May.

Later, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will “flag off a cavalcade for all CWC members, invitees, PCC chiefs and CLP leaders to visit each of the 119 Assembly constituencies of Telangana”.

All senior leaders of the party – barring MPs, who have to come back to attend the special session of Parliament – will be staying on in Hyderabad on Monday to hold workers’ meetings and participate in door-to-door distribution of a “charge sheet” against the BRS government.