Gehlot, Baghel meet Cong chief, discuss party's poll strategy plan

Chief ministers of Congress-ruled Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh on Wednesday met party president Sonia Gandhi here and discussed the organisation's strategy for the upcoming assembly and general elections.

The meeting was part of the deliberations being held to evolve a long-term strategy for the Congress and discuss the plan presented by poll strategist Prashant Kishor.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel landed in the national capital on Wednesday morning and met the Congress chief at her residence where Kishor was also present.

During the meeting that lasted several hours, the two chief ministers presented their plans for the respective states and asked Kishor to give his additional suggestions to be implemented there, sources said.

They are learnt to have discussed Kishor's strategy and deliberated on it with other party leaders, they said.

A group of senior party leaders are looking into Kishor's plan and will present a report to the Congress president on it within a week, according to sources.

The poll strategist had presented his plan before the top Congress leadership on Saturday and the party president had formed a panel to look into it and give its report.

The Congress is striving to strengthen the organisation and fight the BJP at the hustings after suffering a series of electoral losses in recent assembly polls. The party has admitted that it failed to impress upon the people about the ''failures'' of the BJP government. The Congress is mulling a strategy for its revival and strengthening at the grassroots level to take on and oust the BJP from power, its leaders have said.