Mumbai, April 5 The Maharashtra Congress has initiated a major organizational overhaul under its 'Sangathan Srujan Abhiyan,' aimed at strengthening the party at the grassroots level. This includes the first-ever selection of taluka (block) presidents.
This move comes amid growing criticism from workers and supporters over the lack of change in the party's organization and the continued dominance of the same faces in key positions.
As part of this initiative, the party is finalizing the names of 72 district presidents across the state, and in a significant departure from past practices, the campaign will also include appointments at the taluka level, covering 675 talukas.
Under the new model, taluka Congress presidents will be appointed along with the heads of 10 frontal organizations and departments at each taluka, including the Youth Congress, NSUI, Mahila Congress, and Seva Dal, as well as representatives from OBC, SC, ST, VJNT, minority, and social media wings.
For the first time in the history of the organization, the party is selecting its taluka president, an initiative of state unit chief Harshwardhan Sapkal.
"Sapkal convinced the central leadership to allow the selection of block presidents through this 'Sangthan Srujan' process. This innovative experiment will help in regaining the grassroots base. Previously, only district presidents were appointed, and they would then appoint the block presidents, which often resulted in factionalism," state Congress spokesperson Hanumant Pawar said.
State observers have been tasked with recommending at least three names for each position, with the final decision to be taken by the party leadership. This initiative is expected to provide organizational responsibilities to more than 7,000 party workers, significantly widening the leadership base within the party.
Leaders said this revamp is part of a broader push led by Rahul Gandhi to rejuvenate the party by drawing inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi and strengthening its connection with grassroots workers.
"This initiative will prioritize youth leadership and aim to enhance the representation of OBCs, Dalits, Adivasis, minorities, and women in the organizational structure. The Congress will work on two principles for the next few years: building an organization based on ideology and fighting for the problems of the people due to the failures of the Union and Maharashtra governments," Sapkal said.
It will also strengthen the party for the 2029 (assembly and Lok Sabha) elections, he added.
Presidents of 45 of the 60 organizational districts of the party in the state are set to be replaced, while chiefs of 12 newly created organizational districts will be appointed.
The party has set a target to appoint around 8,000 new office bearers, including district and taluka presidents, within the next two months, Sapkal said.
"The Congress is currently implementing the 'Sangathan Srujan' (organizational restructuring) program in Maharashtra. For this, one observer from Delhi has been sent to each district. These observers will submit panels of names for the new presidents to the central leadership, which will then finalize the appointments," he said.
All those who have served as district presidents for five years or more will be replaced with new faces.
"There is no opposition to making new appointments. Leaders who have held the post for many years are themselves insisting that new faces should be given a chance. The objective is not to remove existing district presidents, but to provide opportunities to new leadership," Sapkal asserted.