Rahul Gandhi to launch campaign to revamp Congress in Madhya Pradesh 

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. File | Photo Credit: PTI

Ahead of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s Bhopal visit on June 3, the Madhya Pradesh Congress on Monday said that the tour would consist of multiple meetings and discussions aimed at revamping the party in the State before the next Assembly elections in 2028.

Mr. Gandhi, who is set to visit the State just three days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi was here on May 31, is scheduled to launch the ‘Sangathan Srajan Abhiyan (Organisation Rejuvenation Campaign)’ aimed at reorganising the party in the State.

The nationwide campaign had been announced on December 26, 2024, at a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting held in Karnataka’s Belgavi. The party has already declared 2025 as the year to strengthen its organisation across the nation.

Addressing a press conference in Bhopal, former Union Minister and former State Congress chief Arun Yadav said, “This campaign is a decisive step towards reorganising the Congress in Madhya Pradesh and building a deep connection with the public. Under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi ji, the party is once again committed to connect with public sentiments and build a strong organisation at the grassroots level”.

“This is not just an organisational discussion, but an effort to connect the soul of the Congress with the public movement again,” Mr. Yadav added.

During his one-day visit, Mr. Gandhi is scheduled to have separate meetings with the MPCC political affairs committee, the party’s MPs and MLAs in the State, and the AICC-appointed observers, as well as the State unit-appointed in-charges for the campaign.

The party had on May 31 announced 11 additional observers for the campaign in Madhya Pradesh.

Mr. Gandhi is also slated to address a gathering of State unit office bearers, district and block presidents, and several other party leaders.

State unit’s media department in-charge Mukesh Nayak said that the campaign would be focused on connecting with the public through thought, connect and dialogue on the ground.

“This campaign will create catalytic groups which will remain active in the field and expose the politics of lies and illusion of the BJP,” Mr. Nayak told reporters.

Losses over the years

The party has been out of power in the State since 2003, except for the 15 months from December 2018 to March 2020 when Kamal Nath was the Chief Minister. The government, however, was toppled after 22 MLAs led by Jyotiraditya Scindia, now a Union Minister, walked over to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The party also failed to return to power in the 2023 Assembly polls after it was reduced to 66 seats against the BJP’s 163. Months later, in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the party failed to open its account in the State and lost the lone constituency, Chhindwara, that it had won in 2019, to the BJP.

While it managed to win one of the two seats that went to bypolls in November 2024, the Congress has faced various organisational challenges in Madhya Pradesh, including the lack of coordination among State leaders in targeting the ruling BJP.

Published - June 02, 2025 09:54 pm IST