Congress Working Committee to meet today: Key things to know

All eyes are on the CWC meet scheduled today after Congress bit the dust in the Assembly election results announced on March 10

After the embarrassment Congress suffered in the Assembly polls at the hands of BJP in four states and Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab, some introspection is in order for which the party's working committee is set to convene today, with special focus on stands of G-23 leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and Mukul Wasnik.

With leaders expressing resentment towards the party after the poll debacle, there were rumours of a change in leadership, but spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala dismissed them as “completely unfair, mischievous and incorrect” and at the “behest” of BJP. CWC Special Invitee Manickam Tagore tweeted, “all rumour mongers will have egg on their face”. So, what is the agenda of the meeting for the party's internal functioning?

Most senior leaders and outside observers agree that friction among the party was the main reason behind its failure in the polls, especially in Punjab, a state considered a Congress stronghold. The resigning of Captain Amarinder Singh after longstanding issues with Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, who also later made life difficult for Charanjit Singh Channi, showed the party up as divided from within. Similar problems were seen in the Rajasthan unit of the party and some echoes of conflict were heard in Chhattisgarh, as well, the only two states the grand old party now rules.

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Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, "There is an organisational weakness in our party and that is the reason we have lost. The defeat in Punjab was because of our faults."

It is agreed within the party that the static within is causing the successive losses. Congress leader and noted legal luminary Abhishek Manu Singhvi called for "reconfiguration" throughout the party to achieve results in future elections, emphasising on organisational elections scheduled for later this year.

Senior G-23 leaders are set to address the leadership issue in state units, which has been a bone of contention for a while. Sources told DH that members will highlight the leadership vacuum and troubles in state units. They are also likely to question the strategies adopted in Punjab and Uttarakhand. It is to be seen whether Rahul and Priyanka would come under attack, especially for the Punjab fiasco.

The confidence in the national leadership of the party has also taken a hit. Some leaders expressed that they had no confidence in Rahul Gandhi. Others likened the party's position to that of a "drowning boat in the turbulent ocean of Indian politics where water is gushing in from all directions". All of this will be up for discussion in the meeting.

Chowdhury said the current motto of the party "should be to strengthen the organisation before framing its policy for the future".

(With DHNS inputs)

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