CWC meet today to review poll losses

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 9

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) will meet virtually on Monday to review recent election losses. Party president Sonia Gandhi earlier called for collectively drawing appropriate lessons from setbacks in “a spirit of humility and honesty”.

The Congress drew a blank in West Bengal, failed to wrest Kerala and Assam from the incumbents LDF and BJP, and lost Puducherry to the NDA.

In Kerala, a weak Congress-led UDF allowed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to script history by not just repeating a government for the first time in four decades, but also winning the maximum ever seats for the Left since the constitution of the Kerala Assembly.

In Assam, the BJP led by Sarbanand Sonowal became the first non-Congress government to return to power. Congress leaders Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi were the principal party campaigners in the all states.

The CWC is expected to chalk out the way forward for the party and also discuss the organisational election schedule which is expected to be concluded by June 30.

The Congress leaders, including members of the G23 group such as Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and others, have been demanding meaningful elections from block to central level and elections to the CWC as well.

It remains to be seen what stance the G23 members will take at the meeting tomorrow since they had been awaiting the May 2 results to reveal their next move.