Rahul Gandhi, Congress Leaders Take Train to Udaipur for 3-Day Chintan Shivir

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders of the party boarded a train from Delhi's Sarai Rohilla railway station on the evening of Thursday, 12 May, to Udaipur, where the party is holding a three-day Chintan Shivir, which begins on Friday.

Gandhi was greeted with flowers and cheers as he reached the station.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi arrives at Sarai Rohilla Railway Station to board a train for Udaipur.

Around 400 Congress party leaders from across the country are expected to participate in the session.

However, ahead of the session, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said that the Shivir should not be treated as a mere "ritual" and added that it "should herald a restructured organisation to meet the many ideological, electoral and managerial tasks we confront".

Of the 422 delegates who will participate in the brainstorming session, "50% are below 50 years of age, around 35% are below 40, and 21% are women representing different sections of society", reported The Indian Express.

Meanwhile, the entire central leadership of the Youth Congress and the NSUI has also been invited to the session.

Need for Chintan Shivir

The session was thought of after the party's dismal show in the recent five-state Assembly elections. A section of the party even called for major reforms and overhauling of the organisations to strengthen the party. The party is expected to come up with a strategy to reverse the pattern of electoral defeats.

Congress is currently in power only in two states, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, and is part of the ruling coalition in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.

(With inputs from the Indian Express.)