Rahul Gandhi receives grand welcome at Bhopal's Raja Bhoj Airport

Bhopal, June 3 (IANS) Congress MP and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi received a rousing reception upon his arrival at Bhopal’s Raja Bhoj Airport on Monday.

He is in the city to launch the party’s Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan (Organisational Development Campaign), following a series of strategy meetings with party workers.

A large number of Congress leaders, including Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari, former Chief Minister Kamal Nath, LoP in the state Assembly Umang Singhar, and several senior leaders, were present at the airport to welcome him.

A huge crowd of enthusiastic Congress workers had gathered outside the airport, leading to chaotic scenes as many rushed forward to greet Gandhi.

Security personnel struggled to manage the crowd before the convoy proceeded to the Congress headquarters -- Indira Gandhi Bhavan in Shivaji Nagar.

Supporters lined the route from the airport to the party office, waving flags and showering flower petals. Traditional drummers in dhoti-kurta performed at key intersections, lending a festive atmosphere to the welcome.

Speaking to the media, former state Congress president Arjun Yadav told IANS, “Rahul Gandhi, the people's leader and the one championing the demand for a caste census, is here to launch the organisational strengthening campaign formally. The initiative will run through the day and aims to revitalise the party at the grassroots level.”

Gandhi is scheduled to hold separate meetings with the MPCC Political Affairs Committee, AICC-appointed observers, and campaign in-charges from the state unit during his one-day visit.

The visit comes at a time when the Congress is grappling with setbacks in Madhya Pradesh. The party has largely remained out of power since 2003, except for a brief 15-month tenure between December 2018 and March 2020, when Kamal Nath served as Chief Minister.

That government collapsed after 22 MLAs, led by Jyotiraditya Scindia -- now a Union Minister -- defected to the BJP.

In the 2023 Assembly elections, Congress was reduced to just 66 seats compared to the BJP’s 163. The decline continued in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where the party failed to win even a single seat, including its former stronghold Chhindwara. Though it managed to win one of two bypolls held in November 2024, internal organisational issues and lack of coordination among state leaders continue to hamper its efforts against the ruling BJP.

--IANS

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