Congress President Kharge Highlights Need for Organizational Reforms Amid Election Setbacks

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge addressed the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Friday, highlighting the party’s underperformance in several states and stressing that the “biggest need” is to strengthen the organization.

In many states, our organization is not up to expectations: Kharge

In a statement shared on X, Kharge remarked, “In many states, our organization is not up to expectations. Our biggest need is to strengthen the organization.” He acknowledged that while the party made a strong comeback in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the results in recent state elections fell “below expectations,” presenting challenges for the future.

Kharge noted, “After the 2024 Lok Sabha election results, the Congress party made a comeback with renewed vigor. However, the election results in three states were not as per our expectations. The INDIA coalition parties formed the government in two out of four states, but our performance was below expectations. This is a challenge for us in terms of the future.”

The Congress leader emphasized the urgency for the party to learn from these election results and address its organizational weaknesses. “We need to immediately learn from the election results and correct all our weaknesses and shortcomings at the organizational level. These results are a message for us,” he added.

The CWC meeting follows significant setbacks for the Congress party in recent state elections. In the Maharashtra assembly elections, the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition faced a major defeat, with the Shiv Sena (UBT) winning only 20 seats, Congress securing 16 seats, and the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) capturing just 10 seats. The BJP emerged victorious with 132 seats, while its allies, the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde and the NCP led by Ajit Pawar, won 57 and 41 seats, respectively.

In Haryana, Congress encountered a similar fate, with the BJP winning a third consecutive term by securing 48 seats in the 90-member assembly, while Congress managed only 37 seats. In the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, the Congress-National Conference coalition secured 48 seats, with the National Conference winning 42 seats and Congress only six.

The CWC meeting, held at the AICC headquarters in Delhi, was attended by prominent party figures, including Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, and other senior officials.

Following the meeting, Delhi Congress Chief Devender Yadav announced that the party will contest all 70 seats in the upcoming Delhi Assembly election without forming any alliances. “We are preparing for the election; we will contest on 70 seats and will win… there is no alliance,” Yadav stated, with the assembly election in Delhi expected to be held in early 2025.