The Congress on Tuesday kicked off “Sangathan Srujan Abhiyan” from Gujarat with its leader Rahul Gandhi giving words of wisdom to top party leaders in Ahmedabad.
National party president Mallikarjun Kharge has given a call for 2025 to be the year for party’s organisational reforms.
Gandhi’s two-day visit focuses on the party’s district committee structure, empowering the district committees, giving more powers to the district presidents and enforce strict accountability.
The Congress has chosen Gujarat for the pilot project. The programme was announced by party general secretary K C Venugopal on April 9 at the annual convention of the All India Congress Committee in Ahmedabad. The convention was organised in Gujarat after 64 years.
Gujarat Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil had requested the party high command to select Gujarat as the pilot project. The acceptance of the request could not have come at a better time when the party eyes to return to power after over three decades in 2027.
The Congress that has not been able to defeat the BJP in the last three decades is also facing a competition of sorts from the Arvind Kejriwal led Aam Aadmi Party. The party is trying to increase its base and has been holding meetings across the state. In 2022 assembly elections, the AAP won 5 seats and the Congress managed to get 17 seats, its lowest ever in the history in Gujarat. Only time will tell whether the two party join hands to dislodge the BJP or fight independently.
Aimed at getting control at the grassroots, the Congress has appointed five-member committee of observers for each district. While four are from Gujarat, one is appointed by the party from the central level. The seriousness of the exercise can be gauged from the fact that MPs, former MPs, MLAs, former MLAs, pradesh advisory committee members have been included as observers. Party heads in the municipal corporations, sitting district panchayat members, heads of different wings of the party are also on the panel of observers.
On Tuesday morning, Venugopal posted on social media that Rahul Gandhi will kickstart this process today and tomorrow. He further said that Gandhi will kick-start “Sangathan Srujan Abhiyan” from Modasa in Arvalli district on Wednesday. He also mentioned about the aim of the exercise. As part of the Pilot Project, Modasa is a model district.
While giving guidance to the observers on how to select district committee presidents, Gandhi also told them to give the names of people who remaining within the party have been siding with the BJP.
One of the observers told Vibes of India on the condition of anonymity that Gandhi told them to give names of such people from each district so that he can start taking action.
Before the convention when Gandhi was in Ahmedabad, he had categorically told to take action against people who have been helping the BJP while remaining in the Congress. At the convention, Kharge too had asked those not working to do work to remain in the “margdarshak mandal” (advisory panel). In a recent interview, Gohil too had echoed similar sentiments.
In the past, Gandhi had stressed upon the need and his intention to separate “marriage horses” and “race horses”.
Party sources told Vibes of India that on Wednesday, Gandhi will even speak to booth level workers in Modasa.
From April 23 to May 8, observers will visit the districts and take the opinions of leaders and party workers. Manish Doshi, chief spokesperson of the Gujarat Congress, told Vibes of India that by May 31, six names from each district will be sent to the party high command and thereafter the names will be announced after consultations with the state party leadership.
Party sources said that the new district presidents are likely to be announced on May 31.
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