Congress forms three panels with eye on 2024 elections
NEW DELHI: The Congress party on Tuesday announced three panels including a key political affairs group — to be headed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi — and a Task Force 2024, signalling its desire to start preparing for the next national elections and prepare the ground for crucial organisational changes. Rahul Gandhi is in the political affairs group and party general secretary Priyanaka Gandhi Vadra is a part of Task Force 2024.
Two prominent G23 members, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma, have been included in the political affairs group. But no G23 leaders have found place in the Task Force.
The formation of the political affairs panel and Task Force 2024 are significant, coming just nine days after the Udaipur Nav Sankalp Shivir (a brainstorming session) that promised organisational overhaul and efforts to revive the party’s poll prospects.
The third group will exclusively plan for the ambitious Kanyakumari to Kashmir “Bharat Jodo” yatra that will start from October 2. The panel has nine members including former Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijaya Singh, former Union ministers Sachin Pilot and Shashi Tharoor, and LS MP Ravneet Singh Bittu. Congress president Sonia Gandhi will preside over the political affairs group, which is an extension of the Congress working committee (CWC) and formed to advise her on important issues.
The composition of the panels indicates that while the party wants to create more space for youth, senior leaders continue to dominate the political affairs group and the task force; still, young leaders including Jothi Mani, Bittu and Pilot are a part of the Central Planning Group for the Coordination of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
In the Congress’s scheme of things, election planning has always been a late affair, starting months before the polls. “In 2004 and 2009, the preparations started with just 6-7 months left for the polls. The formation of the Task Force indicates we have started preparing for the general election two years in advance,” a senior leader said, requesting anonymity.
The Task Force 2024 members are: P Chidambaram, Mukul Wasnik, Jairam Ramesh, KC Venugopal, Ajay Maken, among others.