Strong Opposition unity impossible without strong Congress: Party's big signal to non-BJP camp on 85th AICC Plenary eve

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, February 19

Amid competing ongoing attempts at the national level to stitch a non-BJP front ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress on Sunday signalled clearly that it alone had the organisational and moral heft to lead any potential anti-ruling dispensation platform, having been consistent in its resistance of the saffron forces and the government, including on the Adani issue which it plans to keep hammering until a JPC is formed for a probe.

Ahead of the party’s 85th AICC Plenary Session in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur from February 24 to 26, the Congress on Sunday said the issue of Opposition unity would be deliberated at the crucial meeting and reflected in the political resolution but added, “Strong Opposition unity is impossible without a strong Congress.”

AICC General Secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh articulated the party’s position a day after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said he was awaiting a signal from the Congress on bringing the opposition together, a move, he said, would limit the BJP below 100 seats in a 545 member Lok Sabha in 2024 General Election.

“We do not need to give anyone a certificate that we have to lead because all attempts at Opposition unity will fail in the absence of the Congress. Strong Opposition unity is impossible without a strong Congress. We will discuss in the plenary whatever needs to be discussed for 2024 elections and state elections prior to that and also the merits or pre- and post-poll alliances. We are already in pre-poll pacts in many states, including Bihar, Jharkhand, northeast, Kerala. So, it is not correct to say that the Congress does not strike pre-election alliances,” Ramesh said.

He also sought to question a section of the Opposition for soft pedaling on the Adani-Hindenburg row.

“We welcome Nitish Kumar’s remarks that ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ impacted the entire political landscape. It is a transformational moment for Indian politics, and the Congress is very well conscious of its role. The Congress is the only party that has never compromised with the BJP,” Ramesh said.

He took swipes at certain Opposition parties for attending Leader of Opposition (Rajya Sabha) Mallikarjun Kharge’s meetings but in actions favouring the government.

“We do not have two faces in respect of the BJP. We only have one face. We want a JPC on the Adani issue. Many parties that attended Opposition meetings in Parliament did not accept the JPC demand and said they wanted a Supreme Court-led enquiry. That was also a political move to save the Prime Minister,” Ramesh said questioning the moral authority of some Opposition parties to take on the BJP.

The Plenary Session of the Congress, expected to take a clear line on the nature of Opposition alliances ahead of the key General Election in 2024, will pass several resolutions, including political, economic, youth, marginalised sections, and will build on the success of Bharat Jodo Yatra, said AICC General Secretary Organisation KC Venugopal.

The session agenda will be set by the Steering Committee meeting (comprising members of the previous CWC which was disbanded after Kharge took over as party chief) which will also approve drafts of the resolutions prepared by various subject panels for the session.

The Steering Committee will meet on February 24 morning to set the tone for the debate through approval of resolution drafts. The Plenary will conclude with a rally in Raipur on February 26.

The Steering Committee will also decide whether the CWC election will be held or past practice of nomination of members by the Congress president will continue. The CWC has 25 members of which party president and Congress leader in parliament are ex officio and permanent; 12 can be elected and 11 nominated by Congress chief.

The arrangement gives the party president a favourable edge in the crucial decision-making body that has powers to unseat a sitting Congress chief, as it did with incumbent Sitaram Kesri in 1998.

The Plenary Session will be attended by 15,000 delegates, among them 1,338 elected AICC delegates; 487 co-opted AICC delegates; 1915 elected Pradesh Congress members and 3000 co-opted; all district Congress chiefs, heads of AICC frontal organisations and departments and all Bharat Yatris who walked with Rahul Gandhi from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.

“The plenary will be an important milestone in the journey towards 2024 Parliament elections,” Venugopal said.

The Congress session comes at a time when Telangana CM K Chandrashekhar Rao is holding parallel attempts to forge the regional parties together and JDU’s Nitish Kumar is holding his own.