Rahul Gandhi on Friday morning met Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot as he reached the Congress-ruled state after a train ride with other party colleagues. Ahead of a three-day ‘Chintan Shivir’ (brainstorming conclave) in Rajasthan, he received a warm welcome at 5 am at the Chittorgarh railway station where a large group of partymen amid cheers and tight security greeted him.
The three-day conclave – said to be the party’s largest in recent times – is aimed at talks on organisational rejig and other national issues of concern, including those related to farmers and inflation. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra too reached Udaipur soon after Rahul’s arrival and Sonia Gandhi will be inaugurating the conclave on Friday afternoon.
Here are ten points on Congress’s Chintan Shivir:
1. On Friday morning, Gandhi was seen heading to the ‘Nav Sankalp Chintan Shivir – 2022’ with Gehlot, Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel and other Congress leaders in a bus. The video was shared by several party handles.
2. The mega conclave – being held in ‘the city of lakes’ Udaipur – adds to the series of discussions the party has been holding with an eye on the 2024 polls.
3. Right after the debacle in the recent round of state elections in March, the Congress had held a meeting of the top body, CWC, where a consensus was reached that Sonia Gandhi will continue to lead the party.
4. ‘Nav Sankalp Chintan Shivir’ – literally translates as a ‘brainstorming conclave for new resolutions’. The party is expected to bring up a strategy for reorganizing the structure.
5. “We know that India expects us to review our organisational dexterity, capacity, capability, but also to adapt ourselves to the current situation and challenges,” party’s chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said on Thursday.
6. At the session, the Congress is likely to strategise over its attack on the central government over ‘communal polarization’, farmers’ issues and other issues, news agency ANI reported. Several states, including Rajashtan, have witnessed clashes in the last few weeks.
7. Ahead of the session, Ashok Gehlot slammed the centre. “The country is passing through a critical period… Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Beant Singh got martyred, but today, the people in power ask what happened in the last 70 years. Those who talk of Congress-free India will be freed themselves,” Gehlot was quoted as saying by ANI on Thursday at an event.
8. The BJP has slammed the Congress and the Gandhis several times over what it has labelled as dynastic politics and the leadership crisis in the party.
9. Poll strategist Prashant Kishor – about two weeks ago – had said he won’t join the Congress after days of deliberation.
10. Elections are due in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and several other states in coming months and in 2023. The national elections are due in 2024.
