Express News Service
NEW DELHI: Days after the Mumbai meeting of the INDIA bloc, the Congress on Monday got into a poll overdrive announcing three crucial decisions. While Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge called for the first meeting of the newly constituted Congress Working Committee on September 16 in Hyderabad, the party president also constituted a 16-member Central Election Committee, which will decide the candidates for Lok Sabha elections.
Meanwhile, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi has convened a meeting of the party’s Parliamentary Strategy group on Tuesday ahead of the upcoming special session of Parliament. It was learnt that the meeting will discuss issues to be raised during the special session. The Congress president also called a meeting of MPs of the INDIA alliance to discuss the strategy for the special parliamentary session. Sources said that the leaders may deliberate on the eight-member panel notified by the Centre on Saturday to examine and make recommendations for holding simultaneous elections in the country.
The Congress President also constituted the Central Election Committee (CEC) in accordance with the amendments made to the party constitution in its plenary session in Raipur in February this year. The development comes ahead of key assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The panel finalises the list of candidates for any parliamentary or state elections, including by-polls. An elected CEC was one of the main demands raised by the leaders of the now-defunct G-23 grouping. However, the amended constitution of the party has bestowed the power on CWC to appoint the members of the Election Committee.
The members of the committee include Kharge, former party presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, and veteran party leaders Ambika Soni and Madhusudan Mistry. Other members include former Union minister Salman Khurshid, Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister T S Singh Deo, Lok Sabha MP from Telangana Uttam Kumar Reddy, Karnataka minister K J George, and P L Punia.
According to the amended constitution of the party, the CWC will “set up a Central Election Committee (CEC) comprising 12 members to be appointed by the CWC, including chairperson of the Congress in Parliament and leaders of Congress Party in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.” Though it says 12 members, the Congress chief has appointed 16 members in the committee, some of them are members of the CWC as well.
First meet of new CWC in poll-bound TelanganaThe first meeting of the CWC is taking place in poll-bound Telangana after the Congress President reconstituted the top body on August 20. Briefing the media, AICC leaders K C Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh said that the CWC meeting will be followed by an ‘extended CWC’ meeting on September 17 which will also be attended by the PCC presidents, office bearers of the Congress Parliamentary Party and the Congress Legislative Party leaders.
NEW DELHI: Days after the Mumbai meeting of the INDIA bloc, the Congress on Monday got into a poll overdrive announcing three crucial decisions. While Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge called for the first meeting of the newly constituted Congress Working Committee on September 16 in Hyderabad, the party president also constituted a 16-member Central Election Committee, which will decide the candidates for Lok Sabha elections.
Meanwhile, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi has convened a meeting of the party’s Parliamentary Strategy group on Tuesday ahead of the upcoming special session of Parliament. It was learnt that the meeting will discuss issues to be raised during the special session. The Congress president also called a meeting of MPs of the INDIA alliance to discuss the strategy for the special parliamentary session. Sources said that the leaders may deliberate on the eight-member panel notified by the Centre on Saturday to examine and make recommendations for holding simultaneous elections in the country.
The Congress President also constituted the Central Election Committee (CEC) in accordance with the amendments made to the party constitution in its plenary session in Raipur in February this year. The development comes ahead of key assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
The panel finalises the list of candidates for any parliamentary or state elections, including by-polls. An elected CEC was one of the main demands raised by the leaders of the now-defunct G-23 grouping. However, the amended constitution of the party has bestowed the power on CWC to appoint the members of the Election Committee.
The members of the committee include Kharge, former party presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, and veteran party leaders Ambika Soni and Madhusudan Mistry. Other members include former Union minister Salman Khurshid, Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister T S Singh Deo, Lok Sabha MP from Telangana Uttam Kumar Reddy, Karnataka minister K J George, and P L Punia.
According to the amended constitution of the party, the CWC will “set up a Central Election Committee (CEC) comprising 12 members to be appointed by the CWC, including chairperson of the Congress in Parliament and leaders of Congress Party in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.” Though it says 12 members, the Congress chief has appointed 16 members in the committee, some of them are members of the CWC as well.
First meet of new CWC in poll-bound Telangana
The first meeting of the CWC is taking place in poll-bound Telangana after the Congress President reconstituted the top body on August 20. Briefing the media, AICC leaders K C Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh said that the CWC meeting will be followed by an ‘extended CWC’ meeting on September 17 which will also be attended by the PCC presidents, office bearers of the Congress Parliamentary Party and the Congress Legislative Party leaders.
