THE MEETING of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) Saturday unfolded according to the script. Jubilant at the party’s better-than-expected showing in the Lok Sabha elections, the CWC was effusive in praise of Rahul Gandhi — as also Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra — and “unanimously” passed a resolution asking Rahul to take up the post of Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha.
The mood in the CWC was buoyant. Although the party could not reach three digits, the committee felt the election verdict had “infused new life” into the party and signaled its “overall revival and rejuvenation”. While there were green shoots of revival in many states, the leadership was concerned about the party’s disastrous performance in some of the states, especially Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi and party-ruled Himachal Pradesh.
Party president Kharge, it was decided, will set up a committee which will look into the factors and reasons for the rout in some states and suggest steps to address the shortcomings. Sources said some of the state Congress presidents could be replaced soon. As expected, the meeting saw leader after leader asking Rahul to lead the party from the front in Lok Sabha and take up the post of Leader of the Opposition which it would get after a decade.
And as is his wont, Rahul told the CWC that he will take a decision very soon. Kharge, too, told Rahul that he should take up the post since the CWC has passed a resolution and, in a lighter vein, added that he would take disciplinary action if he does not heed to the CWC’s decision.
“During this election, we raised so many burning issues – unemployment, price rise, Agniveer issue, women and social justice issues. These issues need to be raised in a greater manner inside Parliament as well. Rahul ji is the best person to lead this campaign inside Parliament. This is the CWC view,” AICC general secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal said after the meeting.
“The entire CWC feels that in the current scenario of Indian politics for a better and strong vigilant Opposition, those who want to protect the Constitution also, should be safe under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi ji as a Leader of Opposition,” he said.
There is also pressure on Rahul not to vacate the Rae Bareli seat in view of the shift in mood in Uttar Pradesh and the Hindi heartland. While the Congress has won six seats in Uttar Pradesh, its ally Samajwadi Party emerged victorious in 37. Besides, the Congress has made gains in Hindi-speaking states like Bihar, Rajasthan and Haryana.
Sources said he is thinking about vacating Wayanad, which re-elected him for the second time, but has not taken a final decision. In the evening, the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) met and re-elected Sonia Gandhi as its chairperson. The CWC reiterated that the Lok Sabha election verdict was a decisive rejection of the BJP’s style and substance of governance.
“The verdict of the people is not just a political loss but a personal and moral defeat for the Prime Minister who sought the mandate in his name and ran a campaign anchored in lies, hate, prejudice, divisiveness and extreme bigotry. The verdict of the people is clearly against the undermining of democracy and democratic institutions that has taken place since 2014,” the CWC resolution said.
The CWC meeting was largely self congratulatory. It also singled out the Gandhis and Kharge for praise. It said the yatras Rahul “designed” and led were “historic turning points in our nation’s politics and instilled hope and confidence in lakhs of our workers and crores of our voters” and his election campaign was single-minded and sharp, and more than any other individual it was he who made the protection of the Constitution the central issue in the 2024 elections.
Incidentally, the CWC noted that the INDIA bloc parties “performed exceedingly well” in several states, among them UP, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. In West Bengal, the TMC won 29 of the 42 seats against the BJP and the Congress-Left combine.
Addressing reporters after the meeting, Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh said the CWC felt that revival of the party had begun.
In his address, Kharge said the verdict was against the dictatorial and anti-democratic ways of the BJP. “It is a decisive rejection of the politics of the last 10 years. It is rejection of the politics of divisiveness, hate and polarization,” he said. Kharge said the Congress’ tally increased in seats “dominated by SC, ST, OBC, and minority voters as well as in rural areas”. Going forward, he said, the party has to make its presence felt in urban areas as well.