AICC session in Gujarat to focus on organisational reboot

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is seen talking to party leader Rahul Gandhi during a meeting with District Congress Committee presidents in New Delhi on April 4, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI

The upcoming session of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in Gujarat is aimed as much at conveying political intent as preparing a roadmap for political revival.

Recent electoral setbacks in Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi — following a modest improvement in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls — have brought renewed focus on the organisational weaknesses of the grand old party.

Also read: Two-day Congress session in Gujarat will seek to highlight the party’s ‘rich legacy’ in State

The Congress party’s organisational frailty, especially in comparison to the Bharatiya Janata Party-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh combine, has been a major talking point ever since the BJP replaced it as the dominant national force in 2014. The other abiding criticism has been its lack of ideological clarity.

The two editions of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, led by former party chief and now Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi appear to have settled the ideological question for now.

Since the yatra began in September 2022, the party has positioned the protection of constitutional values, implementation of a caste census to ensure social justice, and increased representation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and those at the bottom of the social pyramid in the country’s political and economic spheres as its broad ideological contours.

Shift in focus

Now, the focus has shifted to strengthening the party organisationally. The year 2025, which sees relatively fewer elections, has been declared the year of organisational revamp. In this context, District Congress Committees (DCCs) have been identified as the key units to drive this change.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Mr. Gandhi have held three rounds of cluster meetings to interact with 862 DCC chiefs in the past few days.

Revamp plan

The revamp plan includes empowering DCCs to identify suitable candidates for local-level elections, manage booth-level operations, scrutinise voter lists, raise funds for the party, run media and social media campaigns and take forward the ideological fight against the BJP.

“This type of meeting hadn’t occurred in 20 years, marking a significant moment in our party’s history. It was a direct interaction between the DCC presidents and the high command,” said party general secretary in charge of organisation K.C. Venugopal.

Mr. Venugopal said efforts are now under way to establish a mechanism for regular communication with DCC presidents.

Fresh district-level appointments have already taken place in Bihar, where elections are expected later this year. But Gujarat — a State where the Congress has been out of power since 1995 — will serve as the starting point for the party to try out its new template ahead of the 2027 Assembly poll.