Congress To Effect Major Organisational Overhaul In Gujarat With Eye On 2027 Assembly Elections

New Delhi: The Congress party will soon announce the names of new district unit chiefs in model state Gujarat as the AICC observers appointed for the purpose have submitted their reports mentioning a list of names.

According to party insiders, all the observers for the 40 districts in Gujarat have briefed AICC in-charge of organisation KC Venugopal, state in-charge Mukul Wasnik and war room in-charge Sasikanth Senthil on the consultations that were held over the last few weeks.

In a day or two, Venugopal will brief senior MP and leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge over the exercise before the party formally announces the names of leaders who will steer the Congress on the ground in Gujarat.

Once the names are out, Rahul Gandhi may hold an interaction with the new appointees to discuss their responsibilities ahead of the 2027 assembly elections.

In due course of time, training sessions will be held for the new district unit chiefs and they will be given certain targets for party work. The party insiders further said that this was the first time that such an elaborate and transparent appointment exercise has taken place in the grand old party.

"I am satisfied with the consultations. We spoke to a large number of people across the Panchmahal district allotted to me. As a result, we now have an elaborate process in place for the appointment of office bearers at the local level," AICC functionary BM Sandeep told ETV Bharat.

While a few names have been suggested in some districts, in many cases a single name has been recommended. Also, while several new faces will be given a chance to head the district units, some old faces may be retained as the workers preferred to work with them. "Our decisions have been guided by the views of the workers in some places. So, some people might be retained as a result," said Sandeep.

According to party insiders, caste equations, local politics and influence of BJP on the local leaders was factored in before shortlisting the names for the post of district unit chiefs. In some places, a few locals could be hand in glove with the saffron party or may have some business interests to protect. Such persons have been distanced, the insiders said.

"The good thing was that it was a very formal exercise. The consultations helped deal with various factions at the local level and identify the best suited persons for the job. I have submitted my report," AICC observer Suraj Hegde told ETV Bharat.

"I have also submitted my report and my feedback to the party," AICC observer for Vadodara Rural Kuldeep Indora said.

The entire exercise has been monitored by Rahul Gandhi who is keen to expand the grand old party's presence in the western state over the coming months. The new district unit chiefs will henceforth be tasked with increasing vote share in their areas, roll out the campaign and have a say in the distribution of tickets, said party insiders.

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