CWC to fine-tune Congress poll strategy tomorrow

New Delhi, Sep 12 (UNI) The Congress strategy for the forthcoming elections to state assemblies in six states and to the Lok Sabha will be worked out here tomorrow at a crucial meeting of its Working Committee (CWC), the highest policy making body of the Party that heads the ruling coalition at the Centre.

Since the coming elections are high on its agenda, the meeting would also be attended by Pradesh Congress presidents and Congress Legislature Party leaders from states, besides the CWC members.

"It is an extended meeting of the CWC as party functionaries other than CWC members are also invited to attend it,'' a senior AICC leader said here today.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the youngest CWC member Rahul Gandhi would attend the meeting.

It would begin at 1100 hrs at the Parliament Annexe. Going by the agenda, the meeting is expected to last till evening.

Though the focus of the meet would be the forhcoming elections, it would also discuss the Indo-US civil nuclear treaty, inflation and communal violence in Orissa.

The meeting is likely to pass a resolution congratulating the Prime Minister on the progress his government has made in regard to the nuclear deal, including the waiver secured from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) last week.

The meeting would work out the broad contours for facing the assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram and the Lok Sabha elections, due early next year.

The ongoing talks with the Samajwadi Party to work out a seat sharing formula in Uttar Pradesh would figure in the meeting.

In the context of the convening of the extended meeting of the CWC, the "Chintan Shivir", proposed to be held in Delhi, will in all probability be shelved.

The Congress had held "Chintan Shivir" at Pachmarhi and at Shimla in 1998 and 2003 respectively to fine tune their stand and decide their strategy ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

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