Nashik: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday called for a grassroots overhaul of the party’s organisation in Maharashtra, urging newly appointed district Congress presidents to strengthen the party at the ground level and take its ideology and message to every section of society.

Gandhi was speaking at the concluding session of a 10-day residential training camp for district Congress presidents held in Nashik under the party’s Sanghatan Srujan Abhiyan. The camp, which began on August 24, was organised as part of the process of selecting and appointing district Congress committee presidents across the state.

Gandhi arrived at Ojhar Airport in the morning, where he was received by Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal, Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar, MPs Shobha Bachhav and Jayshree Thorat, and other senior party leaders.

He then visited the MTDC resort where the training programme was being conducted and held discussions with senior Maharashtra Congress leaders. The meeting was attended by Satej alias ‘Bunty’ Patil, Balasaheb Thorat, Naseem Khan, Chandrakant Handore, Manikrao Thakare, Rajnitai Patil, Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad, Praniti Shinde, Dr Vishwajeet Kadam, Mohan Joshi and AICC secretaries B.M. Sandeep, Rehana Chishti and Vamshi Reddy, among others.

During the concluding programme, Gandhi interacted with the families of the district Congress presidents participating in the camp before addressing the party functionaries.

In his interaction with the district chiefs, Gandhi emphasised the need to build a strong and active organisation from the grassroots. He called upon the newly appointed presidents to expand the party’s presence among people across Maharashtra, strengthen local-level networks and ensure that the Congress’s political message reaches every section of society.

Gandhi also held direct discussions with the district presidents on organisational challenges and the difficulties faced by the party at the grassroots. The interaction was aimed at giving the new district leadership greater clarity on organisational responsibilities and political strategy.

In a departure from the conventional format of political training, Gandhi also introduced the district presidents to Jiu-Jitsu martial arts, participating in a practical demonstration. The session emerged as one of the notable highlights of the concluding day.

Later, Gandhi met tribal students who have been protesting over various demands in Nashik, Pune, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Nagpur. He heard their grievances and discussed the issues confronting the students.

Gandhi assured the protesting students that the Congress would stand by them in their struggle and would work to raise their concerns. The interaction with the tribal students added a social and grassroots dimension to his Nashik visit.

The 10-day residential camp was designed to equip the newly appointed district Congress presidents with organisational skills, political understanding and grassroots strategies. The Congress leadership sees the exercise as part of its broader effort to strengthen the party’s organisational machinery and expand its network across Maharashtra.