The first meeting on March 26 was attended by 255 DCC presidents from Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Lakshadweep, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Goa, Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh.
The second meeting on April 3 was attended by 305 DCC presidents from Maharashtra, Mumbai, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Punjab, and Chandigarh.
In total, 862 DCC presidents have attended these meetings, Venugopal said.
The major areas of discussion were centred around booth management and voter verification, party ideological training, media and social media campaigns, and asset and property management for party activities, he said.
This type of meeting had not occurred in 20 years, marking a significant moment in the party’s history, Venugopal added.
“It was a direct interaction between the DCC presidents and the high command. We are now establishing a system for regular communication with DCC presidents,” Venugopal said.
Around 60 DCC presidents shared their views on strengthening the organisation and implementing changes, he said.
“These issues were discussed in depth. I believe this meeting, held just before the AICC session in Gujarat, will provide valuable insights into our organisation’s grassroots level. As we have said, our goal for 2025 is to establish a robust organisation structure,” Venugopal said.
He also informed that the AICC session’s theme of “Nyaypath: Sankalp, Samarpan, and Sangharsh” would be the tagline for the session.
“The event is scheduled to take place on April 8-9 at the Sabarmati riverbank in Ahmedabad. On April 8, the Extended Congress Working Committee will meet at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Memorial. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s presidency and the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, both iconic figures born in Gujarat,” he said.
The Extended Working Committee meeting will be attended by Congress Working Committee members, permanent and special invitees, Pradesh Congress Committee presidents, Congress Legislature Party leaders, council leaders, Central Election Committee members, Congress Parliamentary Party officebearers, former chief ministers and deputy chief ministers, Venugopal said.
Approximately 169 people will attend on the first day.
On April 9, the AICC session will take place with around 1,725 elected AICC and co-opted members attending, along with MPs, ministers and other senior leaders, he said.
Seeking to strengthen the party at the grassroots, the top Congress leadership has stressed that the DCCs would soon be given a lot of powers with which their responsibility, as well as accountability, would also increase.
The party had also said the district units would be given more voice in selecting candidates for polls.
