Is 'Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan' of Congress a non-inclusive campaign?

New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi's decision to empower Congress workers by involving them in the selection of district and city presidents hit a rough patch in the beginning itself, following complaints that the outcome of the process in Gujarat was non-inclusive as it excluded many communities.

The first list of 40 district and city presidents in Gujarat, released on June 22, had no Muslim name despite the fact that a few districts, such as Bharuch, have a sizeable population of the minority community.

Coming from a party that has been consistently accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of marginalising, persecuting and instigating violence against the Muslims since Narendra Modi assumed power as the Prime Minister in 2014, the omission by the Congress leadership was noticeable.

It was only after the list drew flak that a Muslim leader was named as the head of the Bharuch city district unit. 
On June 23, the Congress general secretary in-charge of organisation, KC Venugopal, issued a press release appointing Salim A Amdavadi as the president of the Bharuch city unit.

Bharuch is the home district of the once super-powerful Congress leader, late Ahmed Patel. He represented the Bharuch Lok Sabha constituency from 1977 to 1989.

Though his daughter, Mumtaz Patel, is politically active, she has not been given any responsibility by the leadership yet.

She was keen to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Bharuch but was denied the opportunity after the Congress left the seat for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as part of a pan-India accord between different constituents of the INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) grouping.

Her brother, Faisal, had disassociated from the Congress in February this year.

“With great pain & anguish, I have decided to stop working for @INCIndia. It’s been a tough journey for many, many years. My late father @ahmedpatel gave his entire life working for the country, party & the #Gandhi family,” Faisal had announced on X.

With great pain & anguish, I have decided to stop working for @INCIndia . It’s been a tough journey for many, many https://t.co/Qn2HzURyXw late father @ahmedpatel gave his entire life working for the country, party & the #Gandhi family. I tried following his footsteps but was…

— Faisal Ahmed Patel (@mfaisalpatel) February 13, 2025

“I tried following his footsteps but was denied every step of the way. I will continue to work for mankind in any way possible. The Congress party will remain my family as it has always been. I want to thank all the Congress leaders, party workers and well-wishers who have supported me,” he added.

The appointments were made as part of the grand old party's 'Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan (organisation rejuvenation campaign)' that was launched in April this year from Gujarat to rebuild the party and empower the district units.

The above omission was not the only reason for the grand old party evoking sharp criticism from its workers. The list also had just one woman district president despite repeated assertions of women's empowerment by the Congress high command. It is well-known how strongly former Congress president Sonia Gandhi fought for the passage of the women's reservation bill in Parliament. The bill was finally passed by Parliament in September 2023.

But that fight had been reduced to mere lip service, given that the Congress, led by a woman for nearly 20 consecutive years since 1998, was expected to take a lead in women's empowerment.

Sonal Patel was named the head of the Ahmedabad city unit. Patel, a former AICC secretary and perceived to be a non-performer, was the candidate against Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Gandhinagar constituency.

She replaced the former mayor and the party's former legislator, Himmatsinh Patel.

At the time of releasing the first list on June 22, Venugopal issued a statement claiming that the campaign, launched to revitalise the party structure from booth to district level, focused on transparent, inclusive, and ideology-based leadership selection. But the list visibly didn't substantiate the claim.

It now remains to be seen if the party will walk the talk in Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, where the campaign is in full swing, or end up as a replica of the democratisation and election process in the Youth Congress.