Congress authorises Rahul Gandhi to decide election alliances, gears up for 2019 polls

Congress president Rahul Gandhi will decide on alliances with other political parties for elections, said the party on Sunday after a meeting of senior leaders to set the agenda for 2019.

“We are setting up a group that is going to do that,” Gandhi said on being asked if the party had started forming alliances for the 2019 elections.

Gandhi at a five-hour meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) spoke about the party’s duty for India’s poor, down-trodden and minorities, said spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala.

“Under Rahul Gandhi, Congress has blown the bugle for 2019 elections,” he said at a press conference.

The Congress entered into a surprise post-election alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular) to form a goverment in Karnataka, agreeing to let JD (S) leader HD Kumaraswamy to take over as chief minister. Rahul’s alliance strategy will be tested in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, states which hold elections this year before the Lok Sabha test in 2019.

The CWC met two days after Rahul’s speech in Parliament during a debate on the no-confidence motion. The Congress president launched a blistering attack on Modi and later, in an unprecedented move, gave him a hug.

Gandhi’s aggressive speech has buoyed the Congress with its leaders expressing confidence that he will pose a formidable challenge to Modi in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.