Rahul’s alliance strategy will be tested in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, states which hold elections this year before the Lok Sabha test in 2019.
NEW DELHI: The extended Congress Working Committee on July 22 authorised Congress president Rahul Gandhi to forge an alliance with like-minded parties for the 2019 Lok Sabha election to take on the BJP.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the newly-constituted CWC, Pradesh Congress Committee chiefs and Congress Legislature Party members from various States.The CWC that was constituted last week by Mr. Gandhi has 23 members, 18 permanent invitees, 10 special invitees.
The Congress entered into a surprise post-election alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular) to form a goverment in Karnataka, agreeing to let JD (S) leader HD Kumaraswamy to take over as chief minister.
Rahul’s alliance strategy will be tested in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, states which hold elections this year before the Lok Sabha test in 2019.
The CWC met two days after Rahul’s speech in Parliament during a debate on the no-confidence motion.At the CWC meeting earlier on Sunday, Congress President Rahul Gandhi said, “Institutions affiliated to the RSS are being created with the money from government of India.
Senior Congress leaders Janardan Dwivedi and Digvijay Singh were also invited for CWC meeting but they skipped the event.Rahul Gandhi had dropped the two leaders from Congress Working Committee.
Former finance minister and senior party leader P Chidambaram said at the CWC meeting that Congress should ally with as many parties as possible for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Several other leaders supported the view, Sachin Pilot, Shaktisinh Gohil and Ramesh Chennithala suggested that Congress should make a strategic alliance but the party should remain at the fulcrum and Rahul Gandhi should be the face of the coalation.
Sonia Gandhi said that they would have to rescue “our people from a dangerous regime that is compromising the democracy of India. We are committed to making alliances work and we are all with him (Rahul Gandhi) in this endeavour.”
“Dr. Manmohan Singh points out that the claim of doubling farm income by 2022 will require an agri growth rate of 14%, which is nowhere in sight,” he tweeted.
