Congress Leadership Meeting Highlights Key Issues and Attendance

Congress Leadership Meeting in New Delhi

On Saturday, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge chaired a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters located in Indira Bhawan, New Delhi. Notable attendees included Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sonia Gandhi, the President of the Congress Parliamentary Party, and several other senior party leaders.

Among those present were Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, senior Congress leaders Harish Rawat, former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, and MPs Rajeev Shukla and Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

Speculations Surrounding Karnataka Leadership

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was also in attendance, amidst ongoing speculation regarding a leadership change in the state. Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar is reportedly firm on completing a two-and-a-half-year leadership transition agreement established after the 2023 assembly elections. Notably, Shivakumar was not invited to the committee meeting, expressing his awareness that several chief ministers were invited, but not the deputy chief minister.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, despite his fluctuating relationship with the party, was present at the meeting. Recently, Tharoor made headlines for missing Congress meetings and praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech at the Ramnath Goenka lecture. Due to prior commitments abroad, he could not attend the Congress rally at Ramleela Maidan, which was themed 'Vote Thief, Leave the Throne.' Tharoor was also absent from a meeting of Congress MPs led by Rahul Gandhi.

Absences and Reactions

According to party sources, Tharoor had informed the party about his unavailability in advance, and another senior Congress leader, Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari, also did not attend the meeting. Tharoor was reportedly engaged in an event organized by the Prabha Khetan Foundation in Kolkata. Earlier, BJP national spokesperson C.R. Kesavan raised questions about whether the party would hold Rahul Gandhi accountable for his perceived failures in the Bihar assembly elections and his 'destructive vote theft campaign.'