'Hope elections are 6-9 months away but...' Shashi Tharoor ahead of CWC meeting in Telangana
Amid controversies over Sanatan Dharma and INDIA bloc banning journalists, the Congress Working Committee meeting begins today.
The first meeting of the reconstituted Congress Working Committee will be held over the weekend on poll-bound Telangana starting from Saturday. Apart from the upcoming elections in Telangana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram, the national political scenario -- the INDIA bloc -- is likely to be discussed at the CWC. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said elections are six to nine months away but it is possible that the government might advance the elections. "Inevitably one of the key topics is going to be current political developments in the country and the actual election prospects and certainly those who have been representing us in the India Alliance meetings, we want to brief the committee about what's happening there...We hope that the elections are in the usual time which is six to nine months away. But it's also possible that the government might advance the elections as we've been hearing and we need to be prepared sooner rather than later...," Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said.
Congress Working Committee meeting in Telangana: 10 points
1. The CWC meeting in Telangana is a combined message to the BJP and KCR's Bharat Rashtra Samithi which the Congress calls BJP's B team.
2. "Congress is giving importance to Telangana and people want Congress in the state. BRS is the 'B' team of BJP and BJP cannot fight Congress alone, so they have placed their B teams at various places to cut Congress votes," Congress leader Ajay Maken said.
3. Sonia Gandhi will preside over the CWC meeting. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and four Congress chief ministers will be present at the meeting. A public rally will be organised on September 17, celebrated as Telangana National Integration Day.
4. Eye at the state election, the Congress will announce six guarantees in the public rally.
5. This is the first time in many years that the top decision-making body of the Congress will hold deliberations for three days outside Delhi.
6. The Congress Working Committee was reconstituted by president Mallikarjun Kharge on August 20 in which he brought new faces like Shashi Tharoor, Sachin Pilot and Gaurav Gogoi. The CWC has 39 regular members, 32 permanent invitees and 13 special invitees.
7. On reconstituted CWC, Sachin Pilot said it is a good mix of youth and experience and the CWC meeting will be crucial to decide the future course of action.
8. The meeting comes as the INDIA bloc is under fire for publishing a list of 14 journalists boycotted by all INDIA parties.
9. Sanatan Dharma row is another raging controversy facing the INDIA bloc as PM Modi in recent days accused the INDIA bloc of trying to kill Sanatan. The row erupted after Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi compared Sanatan with dengue and malaria.
10. Another interesting political development coming up in the Parliament Special Session from September 18 to 22. An all-party meeting has been convened on September 17.
