Patna, Sep 23 : The Congress Working Committee (CWC) will convene its meeting at Sadaqat Ashram in Patna on Wednesday, a politically significant development ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections.

The gathering will be attended by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, and all 170 members of the committee.

While the Congress has described the meeting as crucial in the backdrop of unemployment and the law-and-order situation in Bihar under the NDA government, the BJP and its allies criticised the party, accusing it of remembering Bihar only when elections are approaching.

Speaking about the event, President of the All India Mahila Congress, Alka Lamba, told IANS, "A meeting had indeed taken place in Patna before Independence. However, this is the first time the Congress Working Committee has met in Patna since Independence, and it holds immense significance."

"Congresses from across the country are convening to reflect on India, including Bihar. Unemployment and crime are concerns, and the economy is heading towards ruin. I believe that major movements and revolutions have emerged from Bihar. We are making another effort, and that is why we have come here," she added.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who arrived in Patna on Tuesday, also expressed confidence in the Mahagathbandhan's prospects.

Speaking to the reporters at the airport, he said, "Bihar is a very good state with hardworking people, but it faces a serious unemployment problem. The government could not provide good governance, which led to the formation of the Mahagathbandhan earlier. The entire INDIA bloc is here to support Bihar. We are confident that change will come. Unemployment remains the biggest challenge."

Former Congress MP P.L. Punia said that the issues faced by the nation will also be discussed during the meeting.

"Elections are to be held in Bihar, so this is an important meeting in that context. The issues India is facing, which the government does not want to accept, will be discussed," Punia told reporters.

NDA leaders, however, dismissed the Congress move and claimed the party will meet the same fate in Bihar as in other states.

Union Minister Chirag Paswan, speaking to reporters, said, "I am glad that the CWC remembered Bihar. No one remembers when the CWC meeting last took place in Bihar. This is the politics of pressure. They are feeling pressured. Additionally, Congress also has not agreed on the name of Tejashwi Yadav as the CM face in Bihar; now the party is holding a CWC meeting."

BJP national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain also downplayed the Congress move, saying, "Congress had held the CWC meeting in Delhi too, and got zero seats in Delhi. No matter how many meetings it holds, nothing is going to happen. The Congress party lost in Maharashtra, lost in Haryana, lost in Delhi, and now it will lose in Bihar too."

BJP MP Janardan Singh Sigriwal expressed confidence in the NDA's return to power.

Speaking to IANS, he said, "The people of Bihar know that even after so many years of Independence, this meeting being held now has no real impact on them. In the past, when these leaders were in power, they never convened such meetings. Now, they are being forced to hold them because of their greed for power."

"These meetings will have no impact on the people of Bihar, who have already rejected them after seeing their past actions, mismanagement of funds, scams, and corruption while in power. People of Bihar will never accept such corrupt leaders as they only believe in PM Modi, and we are confident that the Nitish government will again come to power this time," he added.

/IANS