From Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, June 8: The Congress’ sterling performance in Meghalaya, Manipur and Nagaland came in for praise at the extended meeting of Congress Working Committee (CWC) here on Saturday.
The Congress bagged the two seats in Manipur, the lone seat in Nagaland and one of the two seats in Meghalaya.
Addressing the meeting, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra had a significant impact as evidenced by the increase in vote share as well as seats for the party in areas the Yatra passed through.
He cited the party’s victories in Manipur, Meghalaya and Nagaland and good show in Assam where it won three of the 14 seats and increased vote share.
In the 2019 polls, the Congress had won just four seats – three in Assam and one in Meghalaya.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra passed through six of the seven seats which the party won. They are Inner Manipur, Outer Manipur, Nagaland, Jorhat, Nagaon, and Dhubri. The only other winning seat for the party in the Northeast, which the Yatra did not cover, was Tura.
Kharge pointed out the Congress’ improved performance among SC, ST, OBC, and minority voters, as well as in rural areas. He said greater efforts are needed to strengthen the party among urban voters and address underperformance in some states where it had previously done well in Assembly elections but failed to replicate that success in the Lok Sabha polls.
On behalf of the CWC, Kharge congratulated the newly-elected party MPs “who fought and won the elections in adverse circumstances”.
He thanked former party president Sonia Gandhi for her active participation in election preparations and the INDIA bloc components for their contributions. He stressed the importance of maintaining unity and collective action both in and outside Parliament.
From Meghalaya, newly-elected Tura MP Saleng Sangma, state Congress chief Vincent H Pala and Leader of Opposition Ronnie V Lyngdoh took part in the meeting.
Top Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, participated in the deliberations. The party hosted a dinner for the CWC members and the newly-elected MPs who attended the meeting.