Congress' National Convention to start today in Ahmedabad after 64 years
The Congress party is set to chart a roadmap to strengthen its organization, enhance accountability, and shape its electoral strategy during its session in Gujarat. This convention is being held in Gujarat after a 64-year gap. According to party sources, this convention will place special emphasis on strengthening District Congress Committees (DCCs), accelerating the process of organizational building, sharpening election preparations, and ensuring the accountability of office bearers. It will include top Congress leaders, working committee members, senior leaders and representatives of the All India Congress Committee.
The national session of the Congress party begins today in Ahmedabad and will continue for two days. On the first day i.e. on April 8, there will be a meeting of the extended working committee, in which the proposals to be presented in the convention will be discussed. There are a total of 169 members in this working committee. Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and other senior leaders will participate in the meeting.
The main convention will be held on April 9. According to Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh, this is the sixth session of the party in Gujarat in the 140-year history of the Congress.
He informed that the first meeting of the Congress was held in Gujarat on 23-26 December 1902 in Ahmedabad under the chairmanship of Surendra Nath Banerjee. The second meeting was held in Surat on 26-27 December 1907 under the chairmanship of Ras Bihari Ghosh, the third meeting was held on 27-28 December 1921 under the chairmanship of Hakim Ajmal Khan, the fourth meeting was held on 19-21 February 1938 in Haripura under the chairmanship of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and the fifth meeting was held on 6-7 January 1961 in Bhavnagar under the chairmanship of Neelam Sanjeev Reddy.
Now, for the sixth time, this historic meeting of the Congress is being held on 8-9 April 2025 in Ahmedabad under the chairmanship of Mallikarjun Kharge. Ramesh said that on April 8, the extended working committee meeting will be held at Sardar Patel Memorial, while on April 9, the All India Congress Committee meeting will be held on the Sabarmati bank between Sabarmati Ashram and Kocharab Ashram.
This session is being held at a time when the Congress performed well in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, but it was disappointed in the Maharashtra, Haryana and Delhi assembly elections. This year the party is eyeing the Bihar assembly elections, where it is hoping to return to power with its alliance partners.
The year 2026 will prove to be strategically important for the Congress, as the party will try to return to power in the Kerala and Assam assembly elections. Apart from this, it will contest the elections in Tamil Nadu along with the DMK, while the picture is not clear about the alliance in West Bengal.
