Bhopal: A three-member Congress committee on Saturday arrived in Bhopal on a two-day visit to review the recently concluded Lok Sabha poll debacle of the party.
The committee comprises Prithiviraj Chawan, former Maharashtra Chief Minister; Saptagiri Shankar Ulka, former Odisha MP; and Jignesh Mewani, Gujarat MLA.
After a brief welcome ceremony by the state Congress unit at party headquarters in Bhopal, the committee started the process of one-to-one meetings with party leaders.
MP Congress Chief Jitu Patwari left the party headquarters soon after having a closed-door meeting with the committee.
The committee will also investigate the role of Jitu Patwari, especially after the Congress Indore candidate Akashay Kanti Bam withdrew his nomination papers at the last minute.
The high command has also tasked the committee to find out reasons why several party leaders, including some sitting MLAs, had switched to BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha election.
Sources told IANS that the role of senior party leaders including two former Chief Ministers Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh along with other senior Congress leaders like Ajay Singh (Rahul), Arun Yadav, Kamaleshwar Patel, and Kantilal Bhuria will also be investigated.
The committee will also visit different parts of the state and hold meetings with senior leaders, district heads and candidates of the Lok Sabha elections.
The committee visit comes at a crucial time as a major reshuffle of Congress’ state unit is on the cards, and the final report will hold significance.
Congress lost all 29 Lok Sabha seats to the BJP in the state. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the party won only one seat and also suffered a humiliating defeat in the Assembly elections held in November last year.
(IANS)
