Need for effective strategy to win assembly polls: Kharge at CWC meet

New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday asked party workers to work in coordination, discipline and unity and put in all their might to win the assembly elections in five states in November.

Addressing party leaders at a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), he once again raised the demand for conducting a nationwide caste census to ensure social justice and rights to Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in accordance with their population, while noting that the BJP is silent on this.

For proper share in welfare schemes, it is important to have socio-economic data on the condition of weaker sections of society and ensure social justice to them, he asserted.

The Congress president also said the party would implement women's reservation in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies if voted to power in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

While asking party leaders to expedite efforts to highlight the government's failures, he said they must immediately counter the "false propaganda" of the ruling BJP as such attacks and "falsehood" would increase as elections approach.

Kharge also underlined the need for an effective strategy for the assembly polls in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Mizoram, to be held between November 7 and 30.

"As we approach the upcoming assembly elections and general elections, it is important that the party works with meticulous coordination and complete discipline and unity," he said at the meeting.

"Today, our nation faces inflation, unemployment, and government's failure to implement the Old Pension Scheme. The ruling party's divisive tactics and misuse of autonomous bodies pose a threat to democratic stability," the Congress chief said.

"The prime minister's absence in Manipur stands in sharp contrast to his frequent visits to the election-going states. His baseless attacks filled with lies and falsehoods on the Congress party will only increase in coming days. It is essential that we counter these falsehoods and create our own counter-narrative," he stressed.

He also said that in 2024, the party must strive to establish a government that addresses grave challenges facing the country and cater to the marginalised, youth, women, farmers, and labourers.

Simultaneously, we must address pressing issues such as inflation and unemployment while remaining attuned to the people's voices, he said.

"We must propagate the exemplary work of Congress-led state governments and past Congress governments. By highlighting these accomplishments, we can instil faith among the public and inspire a brighter future," he said.

On the CWC meeting at the party headquarters, former party chief Rahul Gandhi said on his WhatsApp channel, "The focus of our meetings has been the Congress party's strategy for the upcoming state elections, and the larger national issues, like the caste census." In the first CWC meeting in Hyderabad on September 16, Kharge said the party collectively resolved to free the country from divisive and polarising politics, strengthen the forces of social equity and justice, and provide the people a Union Government that is responsible, responsive, sensitive, transparent and accountable.

In the recently concluded five-day special session of Parliament, he said the government brought the women's reservation bill without consulting the opposition parties.

As has been the case in the past, the government failed to engage with the opposition, even during such a momentous occasion, he lamented.

"Barring the passage of the women's reservation bill, the special session was converted into another event for the government, best known for its distraction and diversionary tactics," he said.

He said the Congress party, along with all major political parties in India, wholeheartedly supported the bill, which reserves a third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women.

"We have consistently voiced our strong support for increased women's participation in politics," Kharge said.

He said the country is still wondering why the bill was not implemented immediately and why OBC women were excluded from its ambit.

Kharge wondered why were the clauses of census and delimitation added to complicate women's reservation and said it is unclear when it will turn into a reality.

"So, it seems that the bill was only brought for marketing and vote-bank politics with no intention of its expeditious implementation," he said.

"It is imperative that we take these concerns to the people and commit to promptly implementing women's reservation with a sub-quota for OBC women once we come to power in 2024," the Congress chief asserted.

Noting that the Modi government's policies are increasing the divide between the rich and the poor, he said the constitutional values and federal structure are under attack and social tensions are rising.

He called for highlighting these issues and saving the Constitution and democracy.

Kharge said there is renewed enthusiasm among cadres after the decisive victories in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka and there is "a need to put in all our might to win" the five states in which elections are to be held, he said.

Single-phase assembly polls will be held in Madhya Pradesh on November 17, Rajasthan on November 23, Telangana on November 30 and Mizoram on November 7 while Chhattisgarh will go to the polls in two phases on November 7 (20 seats) and 17 (70 seats), the Election Commission announced on Monday.

This was the second meeting of the CWC, the highest decision making body of the Congress, after it was reconstituted under the presidentship of Kharge in August. The first meeting was held in Hyderabad last month.