Congress leaders Rahul and Sonia Gandhi on Monday attended Congress Working Committee meeting just hours ahead of the announcement of poll dates of five states.
Sources close the party told PTI that the upcoming Assembly polls in five states and case census are expected to top the agenda of today’s meeting.
The Election Commission of India is set to announce the schedule for the upcoming Assembly elections of Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana on Monday.
The Election Commission will hold a press conference in this regard.
CWC meeting today
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, chief ministers of all the Congress-ruled states and the party top brass will deliberate on election preparedness and narratives across the poll-bound states at length, besides holding extensive discussions on the party’s firm pitch for the nationwide caste census and its implications.
There are concerns within the Congress with respect to the articulation of its demand for the caste census, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently accusing the opposition party of attempting to divide Hindus through its push for the Other Backward Classes (OBC).
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi, who is also a regular CWC member, raised concerns recently over Rahul Gandhi’s “jitni abaadi, utna haq” (rights proportionate to population) slogan, arguing that it amounts to an endorsement of majoritarianism.
Although Singhvi quickly deleted his controversial post on X after the Congress distanced itself from his remarks, concerns remain among a section of the party as to the articulation of the politically sensitive call for the caste census.
Meanwhile, the ruling BJP has escalated its attacks against the Congress, saying the party has never been in favour of a caste census with late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi opposing the Mandal Commission in Parliament.
The Congress has taken a principled stand to push for the caste census in order to counter the BJP’s Hindutva agenda.
After Bihar released the findings of a caste census in the state, Congress-ruled Rajasthan issued orders on Saturday for holding a similar exercise.
In Chhattisgarh too, the Congress has announced that it will conduct a caste census if it is voted to power again.
Congress-ruled Karnataka has already announced the census and is likely to come out with its results later this year.
On the agenda at Monday’s CWC meet is firming up the party’s strategy in the five poll-bound states.
The Congress is seeking to retain its governments in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan and hoping to wrest power from the BJP in Madhya Pradesh, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in Telangana and Mizo National Front (MNF) in Mizoram.
The CWC meet comes at a time when some opposition leaders are facing heat from central agencies and the latest in a series of arrests is of AAP’s Sanjay Singh in the Delhi excise policy case.
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Updated: 09 Oct 2023, 10:51 AM IST