Photogallery: Rahul Gandhi chairs first CWC as Congress chief, key party leaders present

While Rahul Gandhi chaired the meeting, former party chief Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh were among those who attended the meet. Speaking to the gathering, Rahul called the newly-constituted CWC as an institution comprising of experience and energy, as a bridge between the past, present and the future. He called upon the Congressmen and women to rise and fight for India's oppressed. 

The CWC was dissolved prior to the election of the Congress president and the earlier panel was transformed into a steering committee till the party's plenary session that concluded in March. The CWC, which acts as an advisory panel on all key decisions of the party, was not in place since the plenary session in March. 

Speaking at the event, Rahul Gandhi reminded the party leaders of the role of the Congress as the 'voice of India'. He also asked the party members to take up the responsibility as he alleged that the BJP has been attacking the institutions, dalits, tribals, backwards, minorities and poor.

The new Congress Working Committee (CWC) includes 23 members, 19 permanent invitees and 9 special invitees. Besides Rahul, former party chief Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh, all former Congress chief ministers Ashok Gehlot, Oomen Chandy, Tarun Gogoi, Siddharamaiah and Harish Rawat have also been included.

Ahead of the plenary, Gandhi had turned the existing CWC into a steering committee. The CWC was announced four months after the All India Congress Committee (AICC) plenary session in March ratified the election of Rahul as party chief and authorised him to reconstitute the party`s top decision-making body.   

Former Congress President Sonia Gandhi, former PM Dr Manmohan Singh, and Congress President Rahul Gandhi address the Congress Working Committee meet.

Former PM Dr Manmohan Singh, former Congress President Sonia Gandhi, and Congress President Rahul Gandhi address the Congress Working Committee meet. "I assure Shri Rahulji that we will fully support him on his onerous task of restoring India’s social harmony & economic development," Dr Singh said.

The new faces in the CWC include former chief ministers Oommen Chandy (Kerala), Tarun Gogoi (Assam), Siddaramaiah (Karnataka) and Harish Rawat (Uttarakhand). Former Union Minister Kumari Selja, party MP from Durg Tamradhwaj Sahu, former MP Raghuveer Meena and former Manipur Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam are the other new faces in the CWC.   

Apart from Digvijaya Singh, Janardan Dwivedi, Kamal Nath and Sushilkumar Shinde, those dropped include Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh and former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.