Rahul wants Congress seniors in Karnataka to unite, may early tickets for 2023 polls

Eyeing a victory in the 2023 Assembly elections, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday brought up some pain points for his party colleagues to work on, which included unity among seniors and changes in the way poll tickets are given.

“I’m very clear about a couple of things going forward,” Rahul said in his address to Congress leaders and lawmakers. “We should show Karnataka a new Congress party.”

Rahul said the Congress can win 150 seats if leaders work together, fight on the right issues and reward workers based on merit.

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Rahul has agreed to a suggestion by state leaders that tickets for the 2023 polls should be finalised six months in advance.

Mincing no words, Rahul asked leaders such as Siddaramaiah, D K Shivakumar, Mallikarjun Kharge and others to “deepen” their working relationship. “I know you all well. I spent a lot of time with you in the last election. The most important thing is to fight together. You are doing it, but it needs to deepen. That’s your responsibility,” he said.

The Congress is perceived to be a divided house with internal factions. Rahul knows the problems all too well having led the party’s poll campaign in 2018, albeit unsuccessfully.

“It is important to promote people based on the service they’ve done,” Rahul said. “We should be ruthless with this idea. I don’t think we should decide tickets based on past history, like what the person did 20 years ago. It should be what work the person is doing today. If that person is doing a good job, then we should protect and reward that person,” he said, calling for a revamp in deciding poll tickets, a process often fraught with nepotism. decided.

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Lauding the Karnataka Congress for enrolling 60 lakh new members - the highest in India - Rahul said the party should capitalise on this. “Yuva and Mahila...this should be our focus. Wherever we can bring them to the fore - in giving tickets or in the organisation - we should do,” he said.

KPCC president D K Shivakumar said he is taking everyone together. “I’m doing this from day one,” he said. He called upon his colleagues to “deliver Karnataka to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi” by winning in 2023. “There are 62% votes in the 18-29 age group that we need to focus on,” he said.

While Congress is often accused of failing to take a stand, Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah made it clear that it is the party’s duty to safeguard minorities, women and SC/STs. “You must have clarity on this without worrying about what others will think. We must be committed to secularism,” he said. “Minorities are in panic and they want our support.”

Siddaramaiah alleged that the BJP will keep raising communal issues in the run-up to the 2023 polls. “Their intention is to polarise votes,” he said. “Congress should be aggressive on these issues.”

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