Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi
Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday announced setting up three panels to help formulate the party's strategy for the 2024 general elections.
While the 'Task Force-2024' will implement the Udaipur 'Nav Sankalp' declaration, the 'Political Affairs Group' will advise Sonia on key issues as announced during the three-day event held earlier this month. "Following the Udaipur Nav Sankalp Shivir, the Congress president has constituted a Political Affairs Group that will be presided over by her, a Task-Force-2024 and a Central Planning Group for the coordination of the "Bharat Jodo Yatra", an official communication from the party said.
Senior leaders P Chidambaram and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are members of the Task Force-2024. Political strategist Sunil Kanugolu who earlier handled the election strategy for BJP in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls and other regional parties in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls has been included in the Task Force-2024. The Karnataka Congress has already roped Sunil Kanugolu as chief election strategist for the next year's Assembly polls.
Mukul Wasnik, Jairam Ramesh, KC Venugopal, Ajay Maken and Randeep Singh Surjewala have also found a place in the Task Force-2024.
"Each member of the Task Force shall be assigned specific tasks related to organization, communications and media, outreach, finance and election Management. They shall have designated teams which will be notified subsequently," the statement said, adding the Task Force will also follow up on the Udaipur Nav Sankalp declaration.
The 'Political Affairs Group' has senior leaders from the Congress Working Committee (CWC) who will assist Sonia in taking the party position on important issues. The panel includes Rahul Gandhi and two key dissenters Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma (both members of G23). G-23 is a group of dissenting Congress leaders who have demanded an organisational overhaul.
Senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Ambika Soni, Digvijaya Singh, KC Venugopal and Jitendra Singh are also the members of the panel headed by Sonia Gandhi.
The third panel, the Central Planning Group, would plan for the 3500-km 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. Its members are Digvijaya Singh, Sachin Pilot, Shashi Tharoor, Ravneet Singh Bittu, K J George, Jothi Mani, Pradyut Bordoloi, Jitu Patwari and Saleem Ahmed.
The yatra, which will start on October 2, will pass through 12 states to rally support to 'protect Constitution, democracy and various institutions'.
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