Congress effectively at 100, talks on LoP set to start

The morale booster came a day before the party holds its legislative party meeting on Friday with its newly elected 99 members and Rajya Sabha parliamentarians

Sangli parliamentarian Vishal Patil on Thursday extended his support to the Congress, taking the effective tally of the party to 100 even as it fixed two crucial meetings over the next two days that will shape its legislative and political agenda and take a call on naming the new Leader of Opposition (LoP).

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge with the newly-elected MP from Sangli Vishal Patil and others during a meeting. (PTI)

Patil, the grandson of former Maharashtra chief minister Vasantdada Patil, was with the Congress, but fought the elections as an independent after ally Uddhav Thackeray staked claim to the Sangli seat. He emerged victorious by around 100,000 votes. His inclusion helps the Congress effectively touch three figures for the first time in a decade after two dismal showings in 2014 and 2019.

“The people of Maharashtra defeated the politics of treachery, arrogance and division. It is a fitting tribute to our inspiring stalwarts like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar who fought for social justice, equality and freedom. We welcome the support of the elected MP from Sangli Vishal Patil to the Congress party,” said Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge.

The morale booster came a day before the party holds its legislative party meeting on Friday with its newly elected 99 members and Rajya Sabha parliamentarians. Another meeting of the top decision-making body, the Congress Working Committee (CWC), will be held on Saturday morning to discuss the 2024 campaign and strategy.

At both meetings, top of the leaders’ minds is likely to be the question of appointing the leader of Opposition (LoP). In both 2014 and 2019, the Congress fell short of the 10% seat benchmark required for appointing an LoP .

Though it is not officially part of the agenda, party leaders said that the issue will be discussed with Kharge likely to make a push for Rahul Gandhi, who is credited for reviving the party in the heartland after two lacklustre outings.

Gandhi won both his seats of Rae Bareli and Wayanad with significant margins. The 53-year-old is also favoured by Kharge for two reasons, said the people cited above. First, Gandhi is a strident opponent of Narendra Modi and the Sangh Parivar. The party believes having him as LoP will energise the party in Parliament and put the government on the defensive. Two, the party thinks Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatras gave him a larger worldview.

“No other MP can speak confidently about every region. He can counter them on every state’s issues,’’ said a leader aware of the discussions.

However, he pointed out that Gandhi is yet to decide and may not agree as he was reluctant to take an administrative role in the past.

Kharge has also prepared an alternative plan, said the people cited above, and asked for a list of the 10 most senior lawmakers in the party.

On that list will be Shashi Tharoor, who has won Thiruvananthapuram for a fourth term, beating Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar. While his popularity is unequalled, there is some hesitation in giving another high-profile role to a southern MP as the head of communications Jairam Ramesh, general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, and Kharge himself are all from the South.

Ideally, the party wants someone who represents the pan India nature of the Congress, said the people cited above.

In this context, former minister and Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari is also likely to be on the list. Tewari is a persuasive speaker, leading debates in Parliament on Centre-state relations and national security. “The only argument against him is that he was part of the G23 group that wrote that letter,’’ said the person quoted above. He was referring to a group of leaders who wrote to then party chief Sonia Gandhi in 2020 demanding internal reforms. To be sure, many members of the former group are now mainstream leaders and some such as Mukul Wasnik play key roles.

A third possible choice could be three-time Jorhat MP Gaurav Gogoi, who is not only close to Gandhi but also led the no-confidence motion that the Opposition brought on the Manipur violence last year.

The BJP won 240 seats in the general elections whose results were announced on Tuesday evening, stopping well short of the majority mark of 272. The Opposition’s Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) delivered an unexpectedly strong performance in three of India’s biggest states – Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal – to restrict the BJP 130 below its stated pre-poll target of 370.

Central to the Opposition’s performance was the revival of the Congress, which ran neck-and-neck with the BJP in Haryana and Rajasthan and improved its strike rate in direct contests with the BJP from 9% in 2019 to 29% this time.