CWC Meeting Today: Meeting of extended Congress Working Committee to be held on Saturday in Delhi

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh informed that a meeting of the extended Congress Working Committee is to be held on Saturday at 11 AM. Apart from the CWC meeting, the party will also hold the meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party comprising all newly elected Lok Sabha MPs and Rajya Sabha MPs will also be held in the Central Hall of Parliament at 5:30 PM followed by a dinner at Hotel Ashok at 7 PM. 

"Meeting of Extended Congress Working Committee at 11 AM at Hotel Ashok followed by a press meet at around 1 PM. Meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party comprising all newly elected Lok Sabha MPs & Rajya Sabha MPs in Central Hall of Parliament at 5:30 PM," he said in a post in X.

The meeting comes after the BJP fell short of the 272-seat majority mark needed to form a government on its own and the balance of power within the government shifted in favour of the allies rather than the centralised government which the BJP ran in 2014 and 2019.

Chandrababu Naidu's TDP and Nitish Kumar's JDU, having won 16 and 12 seats respectively in their respective states, have extended support to the NDA. The main opposition Congress, on the other hand, registered a strong growth, winning 99 seats against 52 in 2019. 

Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday held a meeting with state party leaders and workers in Karnataka's Bengaluru. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar were also present at the meeting. DK Shivakumar on Friday pitched for party leader Rahul Gandhi as the Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament. 

"We want Rahul Gandhi as the Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament...Rahul Gandhi said to us today that we should win the hearts of people who didn't vote for us," Shivakumar said.

In the Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka, the Congress bagged nine seats with the vote share being 45.43 per cent. According to the Election Commission of India, the BJP won 240 seats, much lower than its 2019 tally of 303. The Congress, on the other hand, registered a strong improvement, winning 99 seats. 

While the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance won 292 seats, the INDIA bloc crossed the 230 mark, posing stiff competition, and defying all predictions.