The grand-old party has also appointed Sachin Pilot as the General Secretary in-charge of Chhattisgarh Congress while Ramesh Chennithala has been handed the reins of the party’s Maharashtra unit.
2024 Lok Sabha Elections: The Congress on Saturday announced massive changes in the party’s inner structure ahead of next year’s general elections as it relieved Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as the AICC incharge of UP Congress. The AICC general secretary has now been tasked to handle the organisation responsibilities of the party, albeit without any formal portfolio.
The grand-old party has also appointed Sachin Pilot as the General Secretary in-charge of Chhattisgarh Congress while Ramesh Chennithala has been handed the reins of the party’s Maharashtra unit.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been relieved from the post of AICC in-charge of UP Congress. Sachin Pilot appointed as in-charge of Chhattisgarh Congress. Ramesh Chennithala appointed as AICC in-charge of Maharashtra. pic.twitter.com/rbmHumcBEa
— ANI (@ANI) December 23, 2023
Former Jammu and Kashmir Congress Chief GA Mir has been as the General Secretary of Jharkhand with additional charge of West Bengal while Deepa Dasmunshi is the new General Secretary of the Kerala, Lakshadweep and additional charge of Telangana Congress.
The sweeping changes in the Congress’ organizational structure come amid the crushing defeats the party faced at the hands of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the recently held Assembly polls in the three Hindi heartland states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan.
P Chidambaram to head Congress Manifesto Committee
Former Union minister P Chidambaram will chair the Congress Manifesto Committee. The 16-member panel also includes Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Former Chhattisgarh deputy chief minister T S Singh Deo has been made the convenor of the Manifesto Committee for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Congress announced.
The development comes a day after a crucial Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting where the party discussed its Lok Sabha poll strategy and said it will announce the names of its candidates soon.
“The Congress president has constituted the Manifesto Committee for the upcoming General Election 2024 with immediate effect,” according to a statement issued by the party on Friday.
Former Union ministers Anand Sharma, Jairam Ramesh and Shashi Tharoor are also part of the committee.
Senior Congress leader and former Manipur deputy chief minister Gaikhangam and the party’s deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi are also in the committee, along with All India Professionals Congress chief Praveen Chakravarty.
The other members of the key panel, which will finalise the party’s agenda for the election, are Imran Pratapgarhi, K Raju, Omkar Singh Markam, Ranjeet Ranjan, Jignesh Mevani and Gurdeep Sappal.
Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0?
On Thursday, Congress had said its candidates for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls will be decided “very soon” and asserted that it would take all necessary steps to make the INDIA bloc an effective bulwark against the ruling BJP and its allies.
During a four-hour meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) at the AICC headquarters in Delhi, former party chief Rahul Gandhi was requested to undertake Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0 from east to west and the proposal is being “considered with positive intent”, a senior leader had said.
Asked about the possibility of such a yatra, which was mentioned by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge in his initial remarks at the CWC meet, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said a decision on it will be taken “without any delay”.
The opposition party also vowed to concentrate on “actionable points” and said its alliance committee is in the process of taking feedback from states for moving forward on seat sharing with the other INDIA bloc constituents.
It has also been decided that January onwards, party workers’ conventions will be held in various states, in which the president and other leaders will participate.
(With inputs from agencies)