AICC session in Gujarat to focus on organisational reboot

Grand old party will look to work on weaknesses after recent electoral setbacks

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.

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.