Ahmedabad: Ahead of next month’s All India Congress Committee (AICC) convention to be held in Ahmedabad, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday held a series of meetings with state party leaders at the GPCC headquarters here. Sources said that Gandhi proposed that AICC implement a complete revamp of the party’s organisational structure, beginning with Gujarat. He will address party workers on Saturday.
Sources in the state Congress said that following Gandhi’s green signal, a complete overhaul of the organisational structure is expected to be made in the party over the next few months. “Gujarat will serve as a pilot project for this new setup. Right from the state president level to the taluka level, a fresh structure is expected to be put into place in the coming months,” said a senior state leader.
Sources privy to the deliberations said that Gandhi held “frank and honest” discussions with state leaders. “Gandhi asked state, district, and taluka level office bearers to spell out what they thought was amiss with the party in Gujarat, why it was losing successive elections at all levels, and what, according to them, was the required strategy to strengthen the Congress in the state,” said a leader.
The state party leader added, “Gandhi also asked each leader who is currently holding a position in the organisation and who held positions in the past, what his or her contribution was in strengthening the Congress in the state. The meetings on Friday were a reality check and brainstorming for the way forward.”
Accompanied by AICC general secretaries K C Venugopal and Mukul Wasnik, who is in charge of Gujarat, Gandhi first met former party presidents and senior leaders at the GPCC headquarters. He then met members of the political affairs committee separately.
In the afternoon, he met presidents of the districts and talukas. The Congress leader is scheduled to address party workers in the city on Saturday before leaving for Delhi on Saturday.
The Congress registered its worst assembly electoral showing in 2022, winning just 17 seats, while the BJP won a record 156 seats. The Congress’ tally was hit by defections and now has a strength of just 12 MLAs in the assembly. It has also lost most of the local body polls to the BJP over the years.
Gandhi earlier asserted that his party will win the 2027 assembly election in Gujarat and that he would visit the state soon to make preparations.