Dehradun, Nov. 3 -- Senior state Congress leaders, with the notable exception of former chief minister Harish Rawat, met the party's high command at national president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence in New Delhi on Monday to chart strategies for the upcoming assembly elections in 2027. Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, party general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, and general secretary in-charge of Uttarakhand Kumari Selja were present at the meeting. Key state leaders present included co-in-charges Surender Sharma and Manoj Yadav, state party chief Ganesh Godiyal, state assembly LoP Yashpal Arya, election campaign committee chairman and Chakrata MLA Pritam Singh, and election management committee chairman Dr Harak Singh Rawat. "Discussions at the meeting centered on key socio-political issues facing Uttarakhand, grassroot organisational readiness, and formulating an exhaustive strategy for the upcoming state assembly polls" Godiyal later wrote on Facebook. "The ten years of the BJP's double-engine government in Uttarakhand have betrayed the hopes and aspirations of the state's people. The completely collapsed law and order situation, grave concerns over women's safety, the arrogance of power, and a constant tendency to shirk accountability have deeply disappointed the citizens of the state," Kharge wrote on social media platform X after the meeting. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Godiyal said: "The central leadership's focus for the upcoming elections in Uttarakhand is clear.... Congress must win this election. Today's meeting was centered on this very objective, where Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and KC Venugopal engaged in detailed discussions to prepare us with an exhaustive strategy. We are confident that under their guidance, Congress will contest the elections with renewed strength." When asked about Harish Rawat's absence, he said, "The meeting was specifically convened for office bearers of the state unit and key committee heads. Moving forward, Rawat ji will be present in future meetings as required." The meeting came a day after the INDIA bloc held a major rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan to demand Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation and arrest over irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission and the conduct of nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise....