The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the top decision-making body of the Congress party, will meet in Delhi on Monday. The meeting is likely to be dominated by discussions on the party’s demand for a nationwide caste census and its campaign strategy for upcoming polls to five states. The meeting comes on a day the Election Commission announces the poll schedule for Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Mizoram.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, chief ministers of all Congress-ruled states, and the party’s top brass will hold lengthy discussions on election preparations and narratives across the poll-bound states, as well as extensive discussions on the party’s firm pitch for a nationwide caste census and its implications.
Also Read: Election Commission to announce dates for assembly polls in five states today
However, there is tension within the Congress party with concerns being raised over the articulation of its demand for the caste census, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently accusing the opposition party of attempting to divide Hindus through its push for the Other Backward Classes (OBC).
According to Abhishek Singhvi, Congress spokesperson and a regular member of CWC, heightened worry regarding Rahul Gandhi’s “jitni abaadi, utna haq” (rights proportionate to the population) slogan, claiming that it amounted to an endorsement of majoritarianism in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Also Read: Rajasthan government orders caste census in state ahead of elections
While his controversial post was quickly deleted after the party distanced itself from his remarks, concerns remain among a section of the party as to the articulation of the politically sensitive call for the caste census.
Meanwhile, the BJP is going all out against the Congress, claiming the party has always been against a caste census with late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi opposing the Mandal Commission in Parliament.
However, Congress continues to take a strong stance in favor of a caste census to counter the BJP’s Hindutva agenda. Congress-ruled Rajasthan has already ordered a caste census, following Bihar’s lead. The party has also announced that it will conduct a caste census in Chhattisgarh if COngress returns to power in the state.
Meanwhile, pressure is already mounting on Karnataka, another Congress-ruled state, which has already conducted a caste census but is yet to release the report.
The Congress is already in power in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan while the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is in power in Telangana, and the Mizo National Front (MNF) in Mizoram.
The CWC meeting also comes at a time when certain opposition figures are under investigation by central agencies, with the latest arrest being AAP’s Sanjay Singh in the Delhi excise policy case. The Congress has decried Singh’s detention but also alluded to similar actions taken by the AAP government in Punjab against its leaders, the most recent being the arrest of its farmers’ wing chief Sukhpal Khaira in a drugs-related case.
The Congress’ CWC big meeting follows the one in Hyderabad on September 16 where the state assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were also discussed.
(With inputs from PTI)