Poll strategist Prashant Kishor will be made part of the Congress's "Empowered Action Group" to help the party win the upcoming elections, an ꧒NDTv r𝐆eport said on Monday.
The report said that the Congress might take more time to decide on his exact role, on whi💟ch differences persists.
The report of the eight-member Special Team formed by Sonia Gandhi to take a call on the matter, has agreed that the C🐽ongress needs to project a new face ahead of the 2024 general elections, the report mentioned.
It also stated that there is also 🥀a need for a total revamp of the organisation, amid speculation whether IPAC's deal with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi ahead of the next state elections might have affected Kishor's negotiations with the Congress.
The report said that the Congress is divided on Kishor's entry. Those leaders who are in favour to include🉐 Kishor are Priyanka Gandhi Vaܫdra and Ambika Soni, while Congress leaders who are against Kishor’s entry include Digvijaya Singh, Mukul Wasnik, Randeep Surjewala and Jairam Ramesh. KC Venugopal and AK Antony.
Meanwhile, the Congress announced an empowered group whic𓆏h will be constituted to address the political challenges ahead and prepare the strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, days after deliberating on a revival plan presented by poll strategist Ki🎃shor.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi also decided to convene a 'Chintan Shivir', a three-day brainstorming session from May 13-15 in Udaipur, where party leaders from across the country will discuss internal issues confronting it and come up with solutions to galvanise the 🍬organisation.
Gandhi also constituted six coordination panels for drafting papers and leading discussions on the issues of political and organisational importance, social justice, economy, farmers and youth during the three-day brainstorming concl🦩ave.
While Mallikarjun Kharge will lead the panel on political issues, Bhupinder Singh Hooda will head the committee on agriculture and farmers. Mukul Wasnik will spearhead the co💎ordination panel for organisational matters. She has included many of the G 23 leaders, who have been insisting ꦺon an overhaul of the organisation, in these panels.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told reporters that Gandhi will constitute the Empowered Group soon to devise a comprehensive strategy for the 2024 ⭕general elections.
Asked if any decision was made on Kishor's induction into the party, ⭕Surjewala was evasive. "Whe꧑never the group is constituted, you will know who is part of it," he responded tersely.
A section of the Congress has reservations over Kishor's entry into the party, particularly after the Indian꧙ Political Action Committee (I-PAC), an organisation he founded, signed an agreement with Telangana's ruling TRS for the next assembly elections. The Congress has adversarial relations with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi in the state.
AICC pointsman for Telangana Manikam Tagore had reacted sharply to Kishor's meeting🉐 with Chief Minister K Ch🉐andrasekhar Rao and other TRS leaders on Saturday and Sunday before the deal was announced.
"Never trust someone who is friends with your enemy,♋" Tagore tweeted on Sunday.
Kishor has been𓂃 insisting he is no longer ass𓂃ociated with the I-PAC.
The decisions by the Congress aimed at reviving th🦩e party were taken aꦯt a meeting of senior leaders who also discussed the plan presented by Kishor.
"The Congress president received a report from the eight-member group on April 21. Today, she discussed the report with the group, and based on the discussions, the Congress president has decided to constitute an 'Empowered ✅Action Group-2024' in order to address the political challenges ahead," Surjewala said.
The meeting was held at the 10, Janpat༒h residence of Sonia Gandhi, where senior leaders including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Amb✱ika Soni, K C Venugopal, Surjewala, Mukul Wasnik, Digvijaya Singh, Jairam Ramesh and P Chidambaram were among those present.
During the meeting that lasted for over three hours, Gandhi discussed th✱e recommendations with the members of the group.
These eight leaders comprised the group which explored ways to revive and rejuvenate the party ahead of the assembly elections in some states and the next Lok Sabha polls, a𓂃nd submitted their report with recommendations to the Congress president on April 21.
"The C❀ongress president has decided to convene the 'Nav Sankalp Chintan Shivir' of the Indian National Congress in Udaipur on May 13, 14 and 15, 2022, where about 400 Congressmen and women from every state will participate," Surjewala said.
The focus of the deliberations will be on the current political and💟 economic situation and the challenges they pose to our society and꧂ the nation, he said.
Surjewala said the 'Chintan Shivir' will also deliberate on the broad strategy o🔴f the Congres▨s for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
"Issues relating to the welfare and well-bein⛎g of farmers ♛and farm labourers, and the trampling of the rights of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, OBCs, religious and linguistic minorities and women, social justice and empowerment and youth will also be discussed in detail.
"In addition, matters relating to organisational restructuring 𒉰and strengthening will be deliberated," a party statement said.
Among the six coordination panels con𝓰stituted by Sonia Gandhi for preparing background notes and leading discussions during the Chintan Shivir, is the political panel headed by Kharge. It includes Ghulam Nabi Azad and Shashi Tharoor, the members of G 23, besides Ashok Chavan, Ut🌠tam Kumar Reddy, and Gaurav Gogoi.
The coordination panel🍒 for organisational matters has Mukul Wasnik, one of the signatories t🌌o the letter written by G 23 leaders to Sonia Gandhi seeking a leadership overhaul, as convener. Its members include Ajay Maken, Tariq Anwar, Ramesh Chennithala, Randeep Surjwala, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Netta D'souza and Meenakshi Natarajan.
Former Haryana Chief Minist🎉er Bhupinder Singh Hooda, another member of the G 23, has been made the convener of the coordination panel on farmers and agricult𒉰ure, with T S Singhdeo, Shaktisinh Gohil, Nana Patole, Pratap Bajwa, Arun Yadav, Akhilesh Prasad Singh, among others as members.
The panel on Economy includes P Chidambaram (convener), Anand Sharma, G, Sachin Pilot, Manish T꧙ewari, Rajeev Gowda, while that on Social Justice has Salman Khurshid (convener), Meira Kumar, Digivijaya Singh, Kumari Selja, and the committee on youth has Amarinder Singh Warring (convener), B V Sriniwas, Neeraj Kundan, Krishna Byra Gowda, Krishna Allavaru, among others.
Many of the G 23 leaders have been adjusted in these panels including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari, Shashi Tharoor and Akhilesh Prasad Singh. (With PTI inputs)
