Congress Revamps Election Panel Ahead Of Lok Sabha Polls: Manmohan Singh And Other Veterans Removed, State Faces Promoted

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday (4 September) made several changes to the party's Central Election Committee (CEC).

In the rejig, several state-level leaders have been inducted into the committee, while veterans like A K Antony, Janardan Dwivedi, M Veerappa Moily, and the 90-year-old ex-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have been removed.

This comes as the All India Congress Committee (AICC) announced that the first meeting of the reconstituted Congress Working Committee (CWC) will take place in Hyderabad, Telangana later this month. The Congress president heads the Central Election Committee (CEC), which is responsible for selecting the party's candidates for both Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

The previous members of the Central Election Committee (CEC) included former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi, A K Antony, Ambika Soni, Girija Vyas, Janardan Dwivedi, M Veerappa Moily, Mukul Wasnik, Mohsina Kidwai, and general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal.

With the exception of the Gandhis, Soni, and Venugopal, all members have been removed from the new CEC, Indian Express reported.

The newly appointed members of the 16-member CEC consist of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Salman Khurshid, Madhusudan Mistry, N Uttam Kumar Reddy, T S Singh Deo, Karnataka minister K J George, Uttarakhand Congress chief Pritam Singh, Kishanganj MP Mohammad Jawed, Amee Yajnik, P L Punia, and Madhya Pradesh MLA Omkar Markam.

This is a significant promotion for Congress leaders such as Reddy, Deo, George, Singh, Jawed, Yajnik, and Markam, as they will now be part of the high-powered panel at the party's highest level.

Mistry previously headed the Congress Central Election Authority, responsible for conducting the party's presidential elections last year. Punia recently served as the AICC in-charge of Chhattisgarh.

In a clear indication of its intent to aggressively contest the Telangana Assembly elections, the Congress leadership announced that the first meeting of the revamped CWC will take place in Hyderabad on 16-17 September.

Following this, the party will launch its campaign with a rally, unveiling five major election promises referred to as "guarantees."

The Congress plans to kickstart its campaign for the Telangana polls with a two-day CWC session, followed by a rally and an "innovative yatra" to all 119 Assembly constituencies in the state.

This three-day blitz aims to demonstrate that the party is taking the Telangana polls seriously and will make every effort to unseat the BRS government led by K Chandrashekar Rao.

State Congress leaders have been highlighting positive internal survey results to showcase the party's progress against the ruling BRS and an aggressive BJP.

The CWC will convene on 16 September, followed by a meeting of the extended CWC the next day, which will include the party's CMs, CLP leaders, and state unit chiefs.

To commemorate Telangana National Integration Day on 17 September, the Congress will hold a rally in Hyderabad where it will announce five poll guarantees.

Subsequently, a cavalcade will be flagged off by Kharge, consisting of all CWC members, invitees, PCC chiefs, and CLP leaders, who will visit each of the 119 Assembly constituencies in Telangana.