Crucial AICC meet all set to draw blueprint for revival

The two-day Congress Conclave on April 8-9 in Ahmedabad in Gujarat marks for the party a return to its roots. The Extended Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting is on April 8 and the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) on April 9. The other AICC Sessions in Gujarat include the one in Haripura near Bardoli in 1938 and in Bhavnagar in 1961.

It's after 64 years that an AICC Session is being held in Gujarat. Two of the tallest Congress leaders, Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel, hail from Gujarat. While the Mahatma led the Congress to freedom, Sardar Patel unified India, by merging 562 Princely States to create a Modern India. This is also an auspicious time for Congress and the country. This year marks the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Patel; the centenary of Mahatma Gandhi presiding, the only time, over AICC Session in Belagavi in Karnataka on December 26-27, 1924; and the 75th Anniversary of the adoption of the Indian Constitution on January 26, 1950.

This AICC Session marks the 110 years since Sabarmati Ashram was started in 1915. It will be 110 years by 2027, when Gujarat Assembly elections will be held, since it has been shifted to the present place on the banks of Sabarmati River. Gandhiji started Sabarmati Ashram as a Centre for promoting his constructive programme, like promoting Hindu-Muslim Unity, Khadi, Nai Taalim, etc. Sabarmati became the starting point for his Dandi March on March 12, 1930, that shook the mighty British Empire, when Gandhiji lifted fistful of Salt as a symbolic act of defiance by breaking the Salt Law on April 6, 1930.

Along with Champaran Satyagraha in Bihar in 1917 and the Ahmedabad Mill Strike, the Kheda Satyagraha in Gujarat in 1918 heralded the emergence of Gandhiji as the undisputed leader of the vast masses of people during the freedom struggle. Kheda Satyagraha was the first time when Gandhi launched the Non-Cooperation Movement in India. Convened against such a backdrop, the Congress conclave is an occasion for the party to draw inspiration from the glorious heritage it has inherited from Gujarat. The Congress will also ready a roadmap for overcoming the political challenges it faces ahead. The Congress is working on a blueprint to revive the party. The convening of District Congress Committee (DCC) Presidents’ meeting in New Delhi recently is a step in the direction. The party has to be galvanised right from the AICC, down to the DCCs level, to make it battle-fit and face the upcoming electoral challenge with greater self-confidence. Starting with Assembly elections in Bihar later this year, there are crucial Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal in 2026, in Punjab, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh in 2027 and in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in 2028.

The Congress must regain its lost political ground in these crucial State Assembly elections, in the run-up to the General Election in 2029. The Congress is proud of the heritage it has inherited from Gujarat. Gandhiji changed the very paradigm of politics. Gandhiji established that politics is not all about pursuing power but is rendering service and working to bring about social change. This was best exemplified by Sonia Gandhi in our own times, by politely declining the highest post of Prime Minister in 2004. She dedicated her life to the socio-economic development of the country through the National Advisory Council (NAC) she headed during the tenure in office of the Congress-led UPA government from 2004-2014 that brought about landmark socio-economic changes in the country. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge will preside over the Extended CWC on April 8 and the AICC Session on April 9. Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Congress-ruled State Chief Ministers and party office-bearers will all be present. The decision to hold the AICC Session in Gujarat, the land of the Mahatma, was taken at the Extended CWC in Belagavi in Karnataka on December 26, 2024. This meeting was to mark the centenary of the only time Gandhiji presided over the AICC Session on December 26-27, 1924. For the Congress, it is also the home State of Sardar Patel. The Bardoli Satyagraha was the agitation against the increased taxation on farmers by the Colonial government of the British. It demanded a cancellation of the 22 per cent tax hike. The movement began on February 12, 1928, and successfully concluded by August.

Impressed by his leadership and organizational abilities during Bardoli Satyagraha, Gandhiji bestowed upon Patel the title, Sardar. Sardar Patel played a stellar role in starting the dairy cooperative, Amul, which was formed in 1946. This was in response to the exploitation of small dairy farmers by traders and agents who arbitrarily determined milk prices. Patel prompted farmers to form their own cooperative, the Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers Union Ltd., which later became known as Amul.

At the dawn of the Indian Independence on August 15, 1947, the Indian Sub-Continent comprised not only the British-ruled territories, but also 562 Princely States, each with its own ruler and internal autonomy. These States were given the choice to join either India or Pakistan, or remain independent, potentially leading to a fragmented, unstable nation. With a combination of diplomacy, negotiation, persuasion and, in some rare cases like in Junagadh and in Hyderabad, Sardar Patel did not hesitate to launch even military action, to achieve this goal of United India. The Congress is convinced that there are only two opposing ideologies. It is Gandhi Vaad versus Godse Vaad. Gandhi Vaad of the Congress is opposed by Godse Vaad. The party strongly feels that Neutrality is neither possible, nor is it an option. It's time for all right-thinking people to stand up and be counted.

(Writer is a Special Invitee to the Congress Working Committee and former APCC President. Views are personal)