Day 2 of the rejigged Congress Working Committee's first meeting will discuss strategies for poll-bound states including Telangana. However, all eyes are on the public meeting to held after the panel meet as senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi is set to announce six guarantees for the people of Telangana ahead of the assembly polls.
The party will hold the public meeting under the banner 'Vijayabheri' in Thukkuguda, on the outskirts of Hyderabad, in the evening as a precursor to the election campaign. At the meeting, Sonia Gandhi is expected to unveil six ‘guarantees’, which would be implemented in Telangana within one month of coming to power. This comes in the backdrop of Congress announcing five guarantees ahead of the Karnataka assembly elections, which saw a landslide victory for the party.
AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal said, “Earlier, Sonia Gandhi had promised to give statehood to Telangana and she kept her promise... Congress promised five guarantees in Karnataka and has started implementing them despite BJP government trying to create hurdles for Anna Bhagya scheme by not giving rice. In Telangana too, the six guarantees will be implemented within a month of Congress coming to power.”
Interestingly, the date chosen for the meeting – September 17 – was when the Hyderabad state, ruled by the Nizam, merged with the Republic of India in 1948. Political parties celebrate the day as integration or merger day depending on their political stance.
The 'extended' CWC meeting on Day 2 is expected to be attended by 147 members, which includes Pradesh Congress Committee chiefs and Congress Legislature Party leaders. Besides poll strategies for Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram, the panel will also discuss other issues concerning the Grand Old Party and the INDIA bloc.
There was an important addition to the party as well, as former BRS minister and senior leader Tummala Nageswara Rao joined the party in the presence of Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday.
On the final and third day, September 18, leaders will campaign in 115 assembly constituencies and release ‘chargesheet’ against the BRS government.
-- with inputs from Rahul Devulapalli