Congress likely to hold CWC meet next week, ambiguity over party polls to end

New Delhi, Oct 8: The Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting is likely to be held next week. This comes a week after a fresh demand for holding a meeting by the Group of 23 (G 23), a group within the party seeking organisational overhaul.

The agenda of the meeting has not been finalised, a senior leader has told news agency ANI, confirming that the CWC meeting, the party's biggest decision-making body, will happen next week. "But yes organisational polls and other political developments happening in the country can be discussed," the leader said.

In the meeting, the strategy for the forthcoming elections in the five states is likely to be discussed, but the main agenda will be on the organisational polls. The top leaders are expected to deliberate on the way forward to elect the new party chief.

Last week, senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, one of the leaders of the so-called G-23 (group of 23), wrote a letter to interim president Sonia Gandhi seeking a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting to discuss the Punjab and Goa situation as well as the "mass exodus" in the organization.

Also, Kapil Sibal asked uncomfortable questions to the party leadership while demanding sweeping changes in the party. "Every Congressman of the country should think as to how the party can be strengthened. Those who have left should come back because Congress alone can save this republic," he asked.

The former Union Minister said that the 23 leaders will not quit the party and said, "We (leaders of G-23) are not the ones who will leave the party and go anywhere else. It is ironic. Those who were close to them (party leadership) have left and those whom they don't consider to be close to them are still standing with them,"

The fresh demand came in the wake of crisis in Punjab Congress after the party made Amarinder Singh resign from the Chief Minister's post.