Rahul Gandhi.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Ahmedabad: With an aim to revive the party before the 2027 state Assembly election, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday met party workers here in Ahmedabad as part of efforts to strengthen the party at the district level to begin with.
Gandhi, who was also the leader of opposition in the parliament, chaired the orientation programme held at party headquarters in Ahmedabad. He addressed the team of observers who are part of "Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan", meaning the campaign to build the organisation at district levels.
The party has formed five-member observer panels, which include four state leaders and one representative from the All India Congress Committee (AICC). The panels have been assigned to each of the 41 congressional committees, where they will be visiting from April 23 to May 9 for consultations. The team will pick six names and send them to AICC. By May 31, the final decision for appointing presidents in all 41 district chiefs, including eight in major cities of the state, will be taken.
The party claimed that the names of the district committee would be decided after consultation with the state leader. In a statement, the Congress said that Rahul Gandhi addressed district observers and instructed them "to take the opinion of all the leaders and workers of the district."
The statement said that the names of the leaders will be decided "keeping in mind the social and geographical situation." This means, sources said, the focus is on giving prominence to OBC, tribal and Dalit leaders in rural as well as urban areas as part of the party's strategy to counter BJP.
"The first objective is to strengthen the party organisation by empowering District Congress Committees and their Presidents, and by introducing a new system of accountability," said Congress MP and party's general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal in a post on X. He was also present in the meeting.
Gandhi is also expected to officially launch the drive from Modasa in the Aravalli district on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Gandhi also chaired a meeting of the state Congress Coordination Committee at the Circuit House in Shahibaug later in the day, along with Venugopal and state-in-charge Mukul Wasnik. During the meeting, the party said, Gandhi reviewed the performance of state leaders and assigned them tasks, keeping in view the 2027 election.
Gandhi is reported to have talked about fixing "responsibilities" and promotion based on sheer performance. "Leaders who are active only during the elections will not get tickets... Those workers and leaders will be preferred as candidates who work with people, and if a district president performs well, he can also be appointed as minister in the government," the statement read.