AHMEDABAD: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi called for a purge within the party’s Gujarat unit, vowing to remove functionaries working covertly for BJP. Addressing party workers in Ahmedabad, Gandhi admitted Saturday that Congress had failed to meet public expectations in the state and stressed the need for an overhaul.
“Gujarat is stuck and wants to find a way, but Congress in Gujarat is not in a position to show the way,” he said. “I am not ashamed or scared to say that we have not met the expectations of the people of Gujarat.”
He highlighted that Congress still holds a 40% vote share in Gujarat and suggested that a modest increase could bring the party back to office. “One out of every two persons in Gujarat is a Congress supporter. If we can increase our vote share by just 5%, Congress will come to power in the state,” he said.
Gandhi drew a sharp distinction between Congress members dedicated to the party’s ideology and those who he accused of being disconnected from the people or colluding with BJP.
“There are two types of people in the Gujarat Congress leadership and among workers,” he said. “One section is honest with the people, fights for them, respects them, and carries the Congress ideology in their heart. The other section is cut off from the people, does not respect them, and half of them are hand-in-glove with BJP.”
He emphasised that without eliminating BJP loyalists within the party, public trust could not be regained.
Gandhi urged Congress politicians at all levels to demonstrate complete loyalty to the party’s ideology. “They should carry Congress in their blood. Put the issue of winning and losing the elections aside. As soon as we do that, the people of Gujarat would like to join our organisation, and we will open the door for them,” he said.
His visit concluded with preparations for an AICC session, scheduled in Ahmedabad on April 8 and 9 – the first such session in the state in 64 years.
Congress has struggled with defections in Gujarat before elections over the past decade. The party lost ground in 2012 assembly elections, 2017 Rajya Sabha polls when Ahmed Patel barely secured victory, and subsequent state and general elections. Its worst performance came in 2022 assembly elections, after which four more legislators defected, leaving Congress with just 12 seats in the assembly.
State Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil affirmed that BJP “sleeper cells” (loyalists) in Congress would soon be identified. “In the coming days, we will ensure that loyal Congress workers get leadership opportunities and not those who get elected on a Congress ticket but work for BJP,” Gohil said.
Congress MLA and Dalit activist Jignesh Mevani said: “Only those Congress workers who will strongly fight against BJP for the rights of local communities will get leadership and tickets at all levels.”
