Congress Confident of Overcoming BJP in Forthcoming State Elections

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi recently met with general secretaries, in-charges, and screening committee members of four states preparing for elections. The party stated it is ready for the upcoming polls. Congress general secretary Organisation K C Venugopal mentioned that the leaders discussed election preparations in Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Jharkhand, and Maharashtra, along with guidelines for candidate selection.

Venugopal also announced that the Central Election Committee meeting for Jammu and Kashmir would occur within the next three to four days. He added that the party is open to alliances in Jammu and Kashmir, aiming to keep the BJP out of power. "Today, we discussed the election preparation for four states in the presence of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and LoP Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. We talked about candidate selection, election preparation, and the guidelines for selecting candidates," Venugopal said.

Election Preparations and Candidate Selection

Congress general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir reiterated that the party is willing to form alliances with like-minded parties in Jammu and Kashmir to oppose BJP policies. Elections are scheduled in Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana between September and October, while Maharashtra and Jharkhand will hold polls later this year. The three-phase elections for the 90-member Jammu and Kashmir assembly will be on September 18, September 25, and October 1.

The Election Commission has also set October 1 as the date for Haryana's 90-member assembly elections. Results for both states will be declared on October 4. Besides Kharge, Gandhi, and Venugopal, members of screening committees for Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, and Jharkhand attended the meeting at AICC headquarters.

Screening Committees Formation

Earlier this month, Congress established screening committees for Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Jammu and Kashmir to finalise candidates. Ajay Maken was appointed chairman of Haryana's screening committee with Manickam Tagore, Jignesh Mevani, and Srinivas B V as members. Madhusudan Mistry heads Maharashtra's committee with Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, Mansoor Ali Khan, and Sirivella Prasad as members.

For Jharkhand, Girish Chodankar is chairman with Poonam Paswan and Prakash Joshi as members. Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa leads Jammu and Kashmir's committee with Anto Antony and Sachin Rao as members. Randhawa stated he would visit Jammu and Kashmir soon to discuss assembly elections with local leaders.

Venugopal expressed confidence in Congress's readiness for the elections. "We are fully geared up for the upcoming round of elections. There is palpable anger against the BJP and its allies and we are confident that we will emerge victorious and fulfil the people's wishes for a pro-poor, pro-people government in each of these states," he said.

Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa noted that various topics were discussed during the meeting. "If we talk about J&K, so I am going there day after tomorrow and will have a discussion with the local leaders about Assembly elections," said Randhawa.

The meeting at AICC headquarters included discussions on candidate selection processes. "INC President Sh. Mallikarjun Kharge ji and LOP Sh. Rahul Gandhi ji held an important meeting with the General Secretaries, In-Charges and Screening Committee Members of the four election-going states at AICC HQ," Venugopal shared on X.

The Congress party is determined to address public grievances against BJP policies through these elections. The focus remains on forming a government that prioritises pro-poor initiatives across all four states.