Opening remarks of Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge at the meeting with District Congress Committee Presidents at the New AICC HQ., Indira Gandhi Bhawan, New Delhi on March 27, 2025.

I welcome everyone to this District Presidents’ meeting today. We have participants from 13 states and 3 Union Territories present here. The importance of this meeting is evident from the fact that we have called all District Presidents from across the country just before the AICC session. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, INDIA parties fought unitedly against the BJP alliance, restricting them to 240 seats. Our ‘Save Constitution’ campaign exposed BJP-RSS’ secret desire to change the Constitution. Today, BJP is short of majority and dependent on two allies. A Prime Minister who arrogantly claimed 400 seats was dealt a significant blow by us. The Congress Party secured almost 100 seats. If we had worked harder, we could have gained 20-30 more seats. A gain of such seats could have led to the formation of an alternative government in the country.

Had we achieved this, we could have halted the systematic assault on our independent institutions, democracy, and the Constitution. Our battle against the BJP and RSS continues both inside and outside Parliament. We must take this fight to the streets. District Presidents, your role is crucial. You are not just our messengers, but the generals of the Congress Party, leading from the front on the ground. Therefore, Rahul Gandhi ji and I recognized the need for direct communication with you.

It is essential to appoint the most capable, committed, and hardworking individuals to these positions rather than making selections based on local leaders’ recommendations. The nation stands face-to-face with multitudes of problems. The economy is in shambles. The rich are getting richer while the poor become poorer. Unemployment is at an all-time high. Skyrocketing inflation has resulted in the lowest household savings in decades.

Attacks on the poor, marginalized communities, women, and weaker sections of society are increasing. The Congress Party has been demanding a caste census to prove our point and restore social justice. In foreign affairs, countries like the USA are not only insulting our citizens, but also embarrassing us by imposing counter-tariffs. Meanwhile, the BJP governments at the Centre and in the states remain focused on creating communal disharmony to divert public attention.

These communal issues are deliberately manufactured in the media to benefit BJP rather than the people. Our fight is much larger! We must ensure the discourse remains centered on people’s issues. The BJP will try to distract, but You and Your Teams must bring the focus back to real concerns.Rahul Ji’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ has shown us that if we raise people’s issues and talk about them, people will join us. They will trust us.

Most importantly, we must remember to work in unity with a long-term strategy to win elections at the state level. Our ideology is strong, but without power, we cannot implement it.Therefore, we have to make every effort, especially in such states, to strengthen the organization and come back to power.

Indian National Congress is a 140-year-old Party. We played a pivotal role in shaping the modern India. Leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Pt. Nehru, Sardar Patel, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, and countless others laid the foundation of the India we see today.

The independent institutions we built are now under attack by those in power over the past 11 years. Such institutions are being controlled by a handful of people with allegiance to a particular ideology.Today’s government gives importance only to a particular ideology instead of talent among the people.

Among the states represented here, we are currently in power independently in two (Karnataka, Telangana) and in alliance in one (Tamil Nadu). Our guarantees should serve as a success story. The BJP tries to mislead and misrepresent our achievements.

Next year (March-April 2026), elections will be held in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, and Tamil Nadu. It is your responsibility to ensure victory for every candidate in your district. We will work together, but you are our first line of defense on the ground. Your inputs will be crucial in planning our strategy, and we will take them into account. Another critical area that requires attention is VOTER LIST management. You must have noticed the increasing discrepancies in voter lists, particularly in Maharashtra. We have formed an EAGLE team to deal with this problem. They are constantly monitoring the activities of the Election Commission.

In West Bengal, the ECI itself admitted that Unique Voter IDs were not actually unique. The same Voter ID number had been issued to different individuals in different states. They are in the process of rectifying this error.

In conclusion, this meeting is of utmost importance. Many crucial discussions will take place today. Listen carefully because you are not just carrying forward our ideology but also the fight for India’s future.

You must take our message to every household. We will fight and establish a government across the country that prioritizes the people and their issues, our democracy, and our Constitution. Jai Congress! Jai Hind!