Plenary in Hindi heartland after 3 decades
The Congress has decided to hold its plenary session in the Hindi heartland after over three decades at a time when Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav are down, Ms Mayawati is facing the anti-incumbency factor and the BJP has become weak in UP.
Though the dates and a venue for the plenary have yet to be announced formally, the choice of the Hindi heartland is a message to “Mandal and Kamandal” parties that the Congress’ next objective is to regain its lost grounds in the cow belt. The plenary is being convened to coincide with the completion of 125 years of the Congress in December.
Barring Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi, the Congress has virtually been out from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. The Mandalites (Samajwadi Party, RJD, Janata Dal-U), BSP and the BJP have virtually checked the Congress in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar from over 20 years. In Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the BJP has proved that anti-incumbency is no factor. The last plenary session the Congress had held was in New Delhi in 1978 after the second historic split in the party. This was the 76th session held under the presidentship of Indira Gandhi. Before that the 75th plenary was held in Chandigarh in 1975. Since then the plenary sessions were held in Kolkata (1983), Mumbai (1985), Tirupati (1992), Kolkata (1997), Bengaluru (2001) and Hyderabad (2006). According to well-placed sources, the plenary would be held in the Congress-ruled states in the Hindi heartland. In that situation, the session can be either in Rajasthan or in Haryana.
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot has already requested the high command to hold the plenary in Jaipur. Earlier, the Congress plenary was held there in 1966.
Meanwhile, Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee is likely to head a drafting committee to give a final shape to the resolutions to be adopted by the one-day AICC meet in Delhi on November 2 and the plenary session. While the AICC meeting would adopt only one resolution on the current political situation, the plenary would have full discussion on economic situation, internal national affairs, organisational issues.
alliances and other subjects.
Sourcs said the process of appointment of PCC presidents would complete by November 2. The PCCs have already passed a one line resolution authorising the Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to appoint Pradesh Congress presidents.
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