Lok Sabha Election 2024: Congress Forms Panels to Probe Poor Election Performance

Days following the Lok Sabha election results, the Congress has established committees to investigate its underwhelming performance in several states, including those it governs.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has appointed six committees to examine the party's lackluster showing in Karnataka, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, and Uttarakhand during the recent general elections.

AICC General Secretary, Organization, K C Venugopal, stated, "Congress president has constituted fact-finding committees to assess the poor performance of the party in the following states, in the recently concluded general elections, with immediate effect."

Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, along with party leaders Saptagiri Ulaka and Jignesh Mevani, will scrutinize Madhya Pradesh, where the party failed to secure any seats.

In Chhattisgarh, the committee comprises former Union Minister Veerappa Moily and former Rajasthan Minister Harish Chaudhary. Ajay Maken and Tariq Anwar will assess Odisha.

Senior party leaders P L Punia and Rajani Patil will look into reasons for the party's failure to win seats in Delhi, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh.

For Congress-ruled Karnataka, senior leaders Madhusudan Mistry, Gaurav Gogoi, and Hibi Eden will conduct the fact-finding.

In Congress-ruled Telangana, former Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha P J Kurien, along with Rakibul Hussain and Pargat Singh, will analyze the reasons behind the poor performance, despite the party's victory in last year's assembly elections.

The committees have not been given a deadline to submit their reports. The Congress Working Committee (CWC) previously discussed the party's poor performance in these states and decided to establish separate committees for each state.

During the CWC meeting, Kharge emphasized the need for these committees to investigate the reasons for the defeats and formulate strategies to strengthen the organization.

In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the Congress won 99 seats, an increase from 52 in the previous general elections, after contesting 328 seats as part of the opposition INDIA bloc.