Congress Convention in Gujarat will begin with new energy to strengthen party: Harish Rawat

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], March 18 (ANI): Congress leader Harish Rawat on Tuesday said that the 86th All India Congress Committee (AICC) Convention in Gujarat will begin with a new energy to strengthen the party.
Speaking to ANI, he said, "Rahul Gandhi is our leader, and he is taking steps to strengthen the Congress and the alliance. He wants the party to stay strong against every opportunity. His steps should be welcomed... We need a strong Opposition so that we can propose a government in 2029."
"The (Gujarat) convention will begin with a new energy because there are constant attempts to remove Gandhi and his principles... To retain those principles, we challenge the government from Sabarmati Ashram on Congress' 100th anniversary," Rawat told ANI.
The 86th All India Congress Committee (AICC) Convention will be held in Ahmedabad, Gujarat from April 8 to 9.
"86th AICC Convention 8-9th April 2025 Ahmedabad, Gujarat," Gujarat Congress posted on X on Monday.
Harish Rawat reiterated Rahul Gandhi's suggestion that people who are in Congress working for the BJP must be identified.
"People (who are in Congress working for the BJP) must be identified... such people are not needed in the party," Rawat said.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi, who addressed party workers in Ahmedabad, suggested that some were "cut off" from the people and half of them were "in cahoots" with the BJP.
In his remarks, Rahul Gandhi spoke about organisational weakness of Congress in Gujarat where it has been out of power for nearly three decades.
"The leadership of Gujarat, the workers of Gujarat, the district presidents (Congress) of Gujarat, the block presidents, there are two types of people in them, there are divisions. One stands with the people, fights for people, respects the people and has the ideology of the Congress party in his heart. The other is the one who is cut off from the people, sits far away, does not respect the people and half of them are in cahoots with the BJP. Until we do not separate these two, the people of Gujarat cannot believe in us," Gandhi said.
Rahul Gandhi urged Congress workers to reconnect with the people and assured them of his commitment. "I want to understand Gujarat, I want to build a relationship with the people of Gujarat. Confidence is inside you; my job is to bring it out," he said. (ANI)