CWC Meeting at AICC HQ in Delhi Photo: PTI CWC Meeting at AICC HQ in Delhi Photo: PTI

The congress party held their working committee meeting to review their performance in 2024 elections.

While reviewing the results, the party also accused the government of undermining the integrity of the electoral process and announced plans to launch a movement against it.

President Kharge said that some 'tough' decision will have to be made by the party after their poor performance at Maharashtra assembly elections.

In a resolution passed by CWC, the party criticized the Election Commission's biased actions, calling them a threat to free and fair elections.

The party also expressed frustration over the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament, which they claimed had been disrupted due to the central government's refusal to address key issues, including corruption allegations, and violence in Manipur and Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal.

The meeting was chaired by party President Mallikarjun Kharge and attended by former party chief Rahul Gandhi and AICC general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh, among others.

While the Maha Vikas Aghadi, of which the Congress is a part, was decimated in the polls in Maharashtra, the party's alliance led by the JMM scored a victory in Jharkhand. In Haryana, the Congress had suffered a shock defeat at the hands of the BJP but won majority in alliance with National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir.

Kharge's Address At CWC | 6 Points

In his opening remarks at the Congress Working Committee meeting at the AICC headquarters here, Kharge said he believes that the EVMs have made the electoral process "suspect" and stressed that it is the constitutional responsibility of the Election Commission to ensure free and fair elections in the country.

Kharge also hit out at internal bickering in the party, asserting that the lack of unity and statements against own party leaders harms the party a lot as he urged leaders to remain united and not speak publicly against each other.

Speaking on the Maharashtra polls, Kharge said the assembly poll results after a good outcome in Lok Sabha elections jolted the party. He said some "tough decisions" will have to be taken due to the "below expectation" performance in state elections. "After the kind of results that came in favour of MVA in the Lok Sabha just six months ago, the result of the assembly polls is beyond the understanding of even political pundits. The kind of results that have come - no arithmetic can justify them," he added.

He noted that the mood was in the Congress' favour during the elections but pointed out that just favourable atmosphere does not guarantee victory. "We will have to learn to convert the atmosphere into results. What is the reason that we are not able to take advantage of the atmosphere?" he said.

Kharge said that the Congress may have lost elections, but there is no doubt that unemployment, inflation, and economic inequality are burning issues in this country. He asserted that the caste census is also an important issue today. He also called upon workers and leaders to start preparing for future polls in advance and scrutinise the electoral rolls properly.

Kharge also asserted that the party cannot achieve success by following old methods. "You have to see what your political opponent is doing on a daily basis. We have to take decisions on time. Accountability has to be fixed, " he said.

Other Congress Leaders Discussed Political Scenario In India At CWC

Addressing a joint press conference along with Ramesh and Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera, party general secretary, organisation, K C Venugopal said the party discussed the political situation in the country for four-and-half hours and adopted the resolution.

Venugopal said the CWC has decided to constitute internal committees to look into electoral performance and organisational matters.

About the Assembly polls results in Maharashtra, Venugopal said the electoral outcome in the state was "beyond normal understanding and it appears to be a clear case of targeted manipulation".

The resolution alleged the prime minister has "abdicated" all responsibility and has not even once visited the violence-hit Manipur since May 2023. It also claimed there were "systematic attempts of the BJP to foment communal tensions in different states, most recently in Uttar Pradesh".

The CWC reiterated its firmest commitment to the letter and spirit of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which is being "violated brazenly by the BJP".

At the meeting, the top decision-making body of the Congress discussed the challenges faced by the party following the results of the four Assembly polls. They spoke at length about the failure to seek majority seats in Haryana and Maharahstra while they thanked people for their support towards alliance with local parties like National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in Jharkhand in the respective state and union territory assembly polls.

The CWC resolution also said the overwhelming victory of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll has generated a massive wave of enthusiasm amongst the party workers as well among the public.

According to PTI, the CWC stated, "There is no reason to get disheartened or to panic. We must persevere with renewed determination and resolve. Unity and discipline are called for now more than ever before. The issues the party placed before the people during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and the Lok Sabha election campaign are issues of daily concern to the people of our country.

"The party must keep reinforcing its narrative. This includes caste census to ensure full social justice, removal of the 50 per cent ceiling on reservations for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and OBCs, control of growing monopolies in the economy through political patronage and continuing price rise and growing unemploymentlegend bet," the CWC added.

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