BENGALURU: In what could be a game-changing moment for Congress, the party’s Karnataka leadership is dashing to Ahmedabad for a crucial All-India Congress Committee (AICC) meeting scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.
The buzz doing the rounds is that a massive organisational overhaul is on the cards that could mark the end of centralised control and beginning of a more democratic, district-driven Congress.
Party insiders said this isn’t expected to be just another strategy meet... it’s going to be a move towards restructuring Congress from the ground up. “There’s a serious effort to decentralise the organisation,” said a senior AICC functionary. District presidents were recently consulted to determine whether their voices are truly being heard, he added.
The intent is clear: Empower local leadership and make candidate selection more inclusive, for example for the Lok Sabha and Assembly.
Around 140-150 AICC invitees from Karnataka, including CM Siddaramaiah, DCM and state president DK Shivakumar and ministers. “This is the beginning of a new Congress. The days of a state-centred command structure are numbered,” said a senior leader, referring to the historic resolution passed during the AICC session in Belagavi, where the party promised to reform and restructure itself.
What’s fuelling the fire further is Gujarat. With assembly elections slated for November next year, the Congress is already looking ahead and claiming that it would form the government in a state that has seen five consecutive BJP regimes. “We are preparing for a Congress comeback in Gujarat,” declared a senior national leader.
While some KPCC organisers are already en route to Ahmedabad to oversee preparations, several top ministers will fly out on Tuesday evening, while the remaining senior leaders will leave on Wednesday.
KPCC working president Saleem Ahmed confirmed the development, saying, “There is serious stress on restructuring, reforming and strengthening Congress.” He added that the core team, including Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, will lead the Karnataka delegation flying out on Wednesday morning.
With nearly all top functionaries set to descend on Ahmedabad, all eyes are now on what promises to be a defining chapter in the Congress revival story.