AHMEDABAD: In a fast-unfolding power play, Congress MP and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi recently landed in Gujarat and held intense closed-door sessions with party cadres and top brass.
It was not just another flyby visit -- Gandhi lit the fuse with a barbed metaphor, labelling state leaders either 'race horses' driving momentum or 'wedding horses' fit only for display.
The analogy wasn’t a rhetorical flair -- it was a warning shot.
Sources say Rahul is on a mission to remove the ceremonial deadwood and rally the doers, determined to reignite Congress’s fading fire in Gujarat.
During the recent CWC and national convention meetings, he reportedly compiled a confidential list -- distinguishing those who lead from those who loaf.
Suspensions and strategic sidelining are now firmly on the table.
With the list in hand, the countdown for a political storm in the Gujarat. Rahul will return to Gujarat on April 15–16, in his second visit in a fortnight, signalling a sharpened and sustained focus on the state unit.
No optics this time -- he’ll kick off the crucial selection of district presidents, marking the first strike in an ambitious grassroots overhaul.
All eyes are now on Modasa, Aravalli, where preparations are in overdrive ahead of his key appearance. The visit, heavy in both symbolism and substance, underscores a singular truth: Rahul is no longer delegating the Gujarat reset -- he’s piloting it.
This urgency mirrors the pulse of the recent national convention in Ahmedabad, where Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge bluntly told non-performers to step aside.
Rahul echoed the tone, warning of a housecleaning aimed at those accused of playing BJP’s proxy. That warning is already translating into action.
Sources confirm a 15-name shortlist of Gujarat leaders is in final review, with outcomes ranging from quiet demotion to public suspension.
The April 15–16 visit is expected to be the flashpoint --an inflection moment in the Gujarat Congress’s trajectory.
The purge is grounded in blistering feedback collected at the convention’s second day.
Rahul had asked workers to submit written suggestions; what followed was a deluge of discontent. Workers flagged infighting, senior-level desertions, and internal elections that funneled Youth Congress talent into BJP’s waiting arms.
Equally alarming is—district-level insubordination.
Despite state mandates, many district chiefs reportedly refuse to empower wing leaders, fracturing the party’s local operations.
These fissures were outlined in direct letters to Rahul, prompting him to seize control and initiate a top-down cleanup.
While some regional heavyweights are expected to survive the shake-up, insiders hint that two to three new faces could rise.
One senior leader is likely to be removed from the CWC.
Now, the buzz is electric: Who will stay? Who will be benched? Who will earn Rahul’s trust to revive a battered, but unbroken Gujarat Congress?
