looking forward to pose a formidable challenge to the Narendra Modi Government, the 84th Plenary session of the All India Congress Committee began on Friday to lay down the future course of the party.
The AICC plenary ,which was attended by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and hundreds of party leaders and workers from across the country is also scheduled to approve the election of Rahul Gandhi as party president.
Rahul, who will address the plenary on Saturday, is likely to focus more on the idea of workers occupying the mainstream against the established leaders. Sources said a set of names of party workers has already been identified. They would get a chance to express their views on what changes they want to be made in the way the party functions and what should be the way forward.
The steering committee of the party, headed by Manmohan Singh, gave a final shape to the resolutions on Friday evening to be adopted on the final day on Sunday. One of the resolutions to be approved is about aligning with like-minded parties in different states in the run-up to the forthcoming assembly and the 2019 lok Sabha elections.
"The next two-day session will witness deliberations by the party workers and leaders on ways to revamp the party in the run-up to the forthcoming assembly polls in various states and suggest solutions to the problems faced by the party," said AICC chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala. Based on the deliberations and the suggestions of workers, the Plenary will pass a series of resolutions including political, economic, agricultural distress, unemployment and on internal security and international affairs. One of the resolutions will focus on highlighting the areas where the current government has failed and thereafter how the Congress would work on these areas.
For the first time, the Congress is set to come out with a resolution on agriculture, poverty alleviation, employment, and issues pertaining to women, minorities, and SC/STs. The resolution will have sub-sections on each of these topics.