Sonia picks G-23 leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, and Prashant Kishor’s ex-aide for 2024 poll groups

G-23 leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma as well as former associate of political strategist Prashant Kishor, Sunil Kanugolu have been picked up by Congress for two of the three strategic groups announced by party chief Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday.

The three groups are on political affairs for guidance on key issues, Task Force-2024 to implement the Udaipur Nav Sankalp declaration and another to coordinate the October 2 Bharat Jodo Yatra.

While Rahul Gandhi, Azad and Sharma are part of the political affairs group that is headed by Sonia Gandhi, senior leaders P Chidambaram and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are members of the Task Force-2024.

Kanugolu has been chosen for the party’s election management.

G-23 is a group of dissenting Congress leaders who have demanded an organisational overhaul.

Other members in the political affairs group are Mallikarjun Kharge, Ambika Soni, Digvijaya Singh, KC Venugopal and Jitendra Singh.

The Task Force-2024 which will strategise for the 2024 general elections, includes Mukul Wasnik, Jairam Ramesh, KC Venugopal, Ajay Maken and Randeep Surjewala.

The group, however, doesn’t have any of the G-23 leaders as members.

According to sources, each member of the task force will lead a team and would be entrusted with specific duties related to organisation, communication, finance, outreach and election management among others.

Sonia Gandhi has also set up another group to coordinate the Bharat Jodo Yatra planned from Kanyakumari to Kashmir from Gandhi Jayanti.

“Following the Udaipur Nav Sankalp Shivir, the Congress president has constituted a political affairs group that will be presided over by her, a Task-Force-2024 and a Central Planning Group for the coordination of the “Bharat Jodo Yatra”, an official communication from the party said.

“Each member of the Task Force shall be assigned specific tasks related to organization, communications and media, outreach, finance and election management. They shall have designated teams which will be notified subsequently,” the statement said.

The Central Planning Group for the Coordination of the Bharat Jodo Yatra includes Digvijaya Singh, Sachin Pilot, Shashi Tharoor, Ravneet Singh Bittu, K J George, Jothi Mani, Pradyut Bordoloi, Jitu Patwari and Saleem Ahmed.

All members of the task force and all heads of the Congress frontal organisations will be ex officio members of the central group, the statement said.

(With inputs from agencies)