ACLARION CALL FOR CHANGE

CHARTING THE PATH Mallikarjun Kharge in conversation with Sonia and Rahul Gandhi at the AICC session in Ahmedabad, Apr. 9

- By Kaushik Deka

It was on the banks of the Sabarmati that Gandhi once shaped India's freedom struggle. In returning here for the 86th All India Congress Committee session, its first in Gujarat in 64 years, the Grand Old Party must surely have wished for liberation from some of its own karma. The high-stakes show was also its first big foray onto Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home turf since the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Eclipsed from Gujarat's power scoreboard for three decades, it was a purely symbolic reclaiming of territory, of course. But that purpose was earnestly attended to, with tactical adjustments intended to retrieve icons expropriated by the BJP. Sardar Patel's 150th birth anniversary came in handy here, with his memorial figuring on the itinerary as prominently as Sabarmati Ashram. Every move evoked a composite legacy rooted in Gujarat, even as every line of its political resolution echoed the party's struggle to re-anchor itself in history while projecting a renewed fight for justice, constitutional values and, last but not least, national relevance.

Symbolism apart, the Ahmedabad session's most substantive proposition was an organisational blueprint. Recognising that cadre structure has atrophied in many states, the Congress announced a shift toward empowering District Congress Committees (DCCs). District presidents will now have a meaningful say in candidate selection, a reform aimed at instilling a more live connection to the ground. For a party long criticised for its command culture, this represents an ambitious attempt to change its operational DNA. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's blunt message to inactive leaders—“Those who don't want to work should retire or rest”—signalled a growing realisation that organisational lethargy has contributed to its electoral struggles.