As a result, these district leaders have tended to work in the interest of specific leaders or groups rather than the party as a whole. For example, in a state like Haryana, the Congress has been unable to form a unified state unit for nearly a decade due to ongoing infighting.
Congress has declared 2025 the ‘Organisational Creation Year’, during which the party is now mainly ‘focusing’ on strengthening its grassroots structure. As part of this initiative, Congress is working on a strategy to empower its district presidents to build a stronger local organisation. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has played a crucial role in shaping the blueprint of this organisational revival effort. According to sources, the entire framework of the pilot project being implemented in Gujarat has been prepared by Priyanka Gandhi.
As part of this strategy, Congress appointed 43 All India Congress Committee (AICC) observers, seven supporting observers, and 183 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) observers in Gujarat for the pilot phase on April 12 (Saturday). Many senior leaders have been assigned the duty of AICC observers in Gujarat to strengthen the organisation at the grassroots level.
These leaders include-
- Balasaheb Thorat
- BK Hariprasad
- Manickam Tagore
- Harish Chaudhary
- Meenakshi Natarajan
- Vijay Inder Singla
- Ajay Kumar Lallu
- Imran Masood
- Dheeraj Gurjar
- BV Srinivas
Observers to meet on Apr 15
The first meeting of these observers is scheduled to be held in Gujarat on April 15 (Tuesday). The formation of this committee aims to end internal factionalism within the party and empower district presidents through the decentralisation of the organisation. So far, due to factionalism within the Congress party, district presidents have often been appointed by state presidents or their close associates. As a result, these district leaders have tended to work in the interest of specific leaders or groups rather than the party as a whole. For example, in a state like Haryana, the Congress has been unable to form a unified state unit for nearly a decade due to ongoing infighting.
‘District First, Then State’ approach in organisation building
Under this new initiative, Congress is focusing on decentralising its organisation and eliminating internal factionalism. The process is being launched as a pilot project in Gujarat. Each AICC observer will be assigned a district, supported by four state-level observers. These state observers will operate at the block level to discuss and identify suitable candidates for the post of district president under the supervision of the AICC observer. Based on grassroots-level feedback, a report will be submitted to the Congress high command, which will then appoint the district president through the central organisation.
According to party sources, Congress is also considering giving district presidents a greater role in candidate selection for elections. In addition to the state-level screening committee, district presidents may be included in the Central Election Committee (CEC) of the party. This would make Gujarat the first state where district presidents play a key role in finalising candidates for assembly elections, and their feedback will carry significant weight in ticket distribution.
