By Sundeep Pouranik

Raipur, Feb 12 (IANS): The Congress party has its strongest hold in the state of Chhattisgarh.

The three-day plenary session of the Congress is going to be held in Raipur from February 24 to February 26, where over 10,000 people are likely to participate.

Sushil Anand Shukla, head of the communication department in the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee, said that it is a matter of honour for the plenary session to be held in Chhattisgarh since the last such conference in the area took place in Tripuri, near Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur before India gained Independence.

Shukla claimed that the convention will strengthen and benefit the party in Chhattisgarh and in its seven surrounding states.

The party is expected to reinforce its unified position in the state during the session.

The plenary session is considered crucial for the Congress since Assembly elections are to be held in five states along with Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh this year and the Lok Sabha elections are to be held in 2024.

The grand old party will be attempting to chalk out a solid strategy to corner the Central government before the upcoming elections.

The Congress seems to have a united front in the state but a rift between Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and state cabinet minister T.S. Singhdeo keeps surfacing time and again. Their statements have, in many instances, given rise to apprehensions about disharmony in the party.

Significantly, Chhattisgarh Congress leaders participated in the Bharat Jodo Yatra despite the campaign not passing through the state.

Baghel and Singhdeo were active in the Yatra, with no such incident that could give the message of the leaders being at loggerheads.

However, some statements made by Singhdeo during that time did create some political tension.

Political analysts believe that a tussle between the two prominent leaders of the state sometimes creates trouble for other leaders, but such a situation had not been seen yet in Chhattisgarh.