The Congress journey in Gujarat

The story until now: “We have not been able to comply with what the people of Gujarat expected of us during the last 15-30 years,” said Rahul Gandhi on March 8, 2025, while heading to the workers of the party in Ahmedabad. They urged the party to eliminate workers and leaders who are “separated from people and conflicts with BJP”, of those who “work for people and have the ideology of Congress in their heart.” The Congress seeks to end the 35 years of the BJP in 2027 in 2027 in 2027 in the Gujarat in 2027.

Also read: Work in Progreso: In Congress and his Ahmedabad session

A few months later, the Committee of the Congress of All India (AICC) with Ahmedabad and approved a resolution for a “mass organizational reorganization” and promised Emberk for the “path of social justice” proposed by Sardar Vallebbhai Patel. The party has promised to launch guidelines to empower the heads of the district unit of the parties with greater responsibility, response and political strength. He also plans to undertake a massive contact program through Padyatras and travel programs.

Since 1995, when BJP first snatched most of the 121 seats in the Gujarat Assembly of 182 members, Congress has not yet won a single state survey. The party had reached its maximum point in 1972 when it won 140 of the 168 seats in the Gujarat Assembly. The party fell to its lowest account of 17 seats in 2022.

Here is a look at the Congress trip in Gujarat

1962-1990

As the princescos states of India and the British provinces reorganized in 1955-57, a united front of the opposition parties called Maha Gujarat Janata Parisht the creation of a unilingual state, carved in the bilingual state of Bombay. On May 1, 1960, the state of Bombay was fork in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Congress chose Jivraj Mehta as Gujarat’s first cm, while Marathha Strongman Yb Chavan became the CM of Maharashtra.

In the 1962 elections, Mr. Mehta was re -elected when Congress won 113 of the 154 seats of the Assembly. Its main opposition matches were the Swatantra party (SWP), which won 26 seats, and the Praja Socialist Party (PSP) that won seven seats. The Congress had accumulated 50.84% ​​of the votes surveyed, while SWP obtained a 24.44% voting. The SWP, a separatist faction of the Congress, was founded by the unconditional km Munshi and C. Rajagopalachari, both conservative leaders of Congress.

The Congress Continued To Rule The State Till 1995. However, its Seat Share Which Grew Steadily Between 1962 and 1985, Encountered to Fall Drastically From 1990. With the passing away of pandit jawaharlal nehru in 194, The Congress Saw a Split as a split as a split as a split as a split A Split As a Split As a Split As a Split as a split as a split as a split as a split as a split as saw a split as saw a split as saw a split as the Hey. Gandhi in 1969. Renamed as INC (O), which later merged with the Janata party, the faction of the congress led by Moraji Desai had two consecutive periods in Gujarat between 1976 and 1977.

With the resurgence of Indira Gandhi in 1977, the Congress once again the control of Gujarat in 1980. Librating the Janata party, Congress won 141 seats, while the Janata match was limited to 21 seats. The newly formed Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) made his debut in the survey winning nine seats. The predecessor of BJP, Bharatiya Jan Sangh, had merged with the Janata party to oppose the emergency of Indira Gandhi. However, with the fall of the Janata government in the center, all its constituent parts separated.

Between 1980 and 1990, Congress changed its Gujaratis approach to the upper class to the lower classes. Directed by Madhavsinh Solanki, Congress sought to strengthen an alliance between Kshatriyas, Harijans, Adivasis and Muslims (Kham). This alliance paid rich dividends when Congress won 141 seats and 149 seats in the 182 seat assembly in 1980 and 1985. Its voter was too embedded from 51.04% to 55.55%, higher to date.

However, the alienation of the upper class cost Mr. Soanki his chair cm. When they were an oath, he was forced to renounce the disturbances of Gujarat Spross castes due to his government’s promise to implement a 10% reserve for social and economically backward classes. The OBC leader Jinabhai Darji, who had been fundamental to sew the Kham alliance, discovered that he was leaving aside, racing the way for Amarsinh Chaudary to lend an oath as CM.

By not fulfilling his promise to expand the OBC reserve, Congress was reduced to a minority in 1990 when he only won 33 seats. The rising BJP, which courted the commercial communities and Tradert, won 67 seats, while its Alianza Socia Janata Dal (JD) won 70 seats. Chimanbhai Patel, who directed the Gujarat faction of JD, successful a coalition of Kolis, Kanbis (also called Kunbis or Patidars) and Muslims in Gujarat, which amounted to about 35% of Gujarat’s population.

1995-2012

The BJP veteran, Keshubhai Patel, took the party to power in 1995, winning 121 seats, forming the first majority government of the BJP in the state. The Congress was reduced to 45 seats and 32.86% of the votes. However, he tried to take advantage of the internal crack between the leaders of BJP Shakersinh Vaghela and Mr. Patel, supporting Mr. Vaghela’s rebellion, who had 47 MLA supporting him. Meanwhile, the newly appointed Secretary of Gujarat de BJP, Narendra Modi, supported Mr. Patel’s candidacy for the CM Post despite many MLA who prefer Mr. Vaghela, who led to internal agitation. However, the BJP managed to quell the rebellion, banishing Mr. Modi from Gujarat for six years and installing the assistant of Vaghela Suresh Mehta as CM.

Between 1995 and 2001, Tusslee between Mr. Vaghela and Mr. Patel continued, with both containing the terms of CM, while BJP continued to build on his support. The participation of the party seats continued to remain above 110 seats and constantly surveyed over 40% of the votes. After Mr. Patel was given up in 2001 after alleged irregularities in relief work for the Buj earthquake, the BJP chose Mr. Modi as his choice chose. A discontent Keshubhai Patel disagree with the re -election of Mr. Modi supporting the selection of CM of Congress in 2007, breaking the BJP in 2012 to form the Gujarat Parivartan party (GPP), before returning to the Redile BJP in 2014.

Duration The years of Modi (2001-2013), BJP was re-elected three times in 2002, 2007 and 2012 with 127 winning seats of the absolute majority, 116 seats and 115 seats respectively. His participation of votes constantly refer above 48%. Thesis years, Congress managed to maintain its own participation in votes at 38% and its strength ranged between 50 and 60 seats. While BJP managed to consolidate the Hindu votes of the upper caste in its corner, Congress managed to retain its participation of votes between Muslims, Adivasis and Obc.

2017

Rahul Gandhi, who tangled the mantle of the president of Congress in 2017, directed the electoral campaign of the parties for the next electoral cycle. Atrolled by the agitation of Patidar directed by Hardik Patel, a back cover of SC/ST and OBC led by Alpesh Thakor, and Dalit protest against the incident of the Flagellation of the ONA directed by Jignesh Mewani, the BJP faced a battle uphill to the state. Capitalization In complaints from most communities, Congress managed to win 77 seats, restricting BJP to 99 seats, the lowest since 1995.

However, since then BJP has been corrected. While these three young activists, Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakor and Jignesh Mewani, joined the duration of Congress in the 2017 elections, Mr. Thakor and Mr. Patel joined animately to BJP and Viramgam and Radhanpur won in the state elections of 2022.

In the preparation of state surveys in December 2022, ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ of Mr. Gandhi was the highest priority of Congress’ parties. While he went to a demonstration in Ahmedabad in September, Mr. Gandhi remained largely absent from Paty’s electoral campaign. Moreoover, the AAM AADMI (AAP) party, which had been gradually capturing Congress vote in all states, was campaigning aggressively in Gujarat. The Spearhead AAP campaign, the head of the game, Arvind Kejriwal, announced a series of gifts focused on different communities.

The Congress was also beaten by a series of high profile outputs, including former opposition leader Mohansinh Rathwa, Mlas Ashwin Kotwal, Bhaga Barad and Raghavji Patel, former head of state Arjun Tadia and Amarha. Another blow to Congress was the disappearance of veteran Ahmed Patel, a nearby assistant of the Gandhis and his problem solving in Gujarat, in 2020. The results reflected the poor Congress campaign as the party was reduced to its lowest. Its vote action was also reduced to 27.28%. While BJP retained its votes or 52.5%, it was the monkey in the participation of Congress, winning 12.92% of the votes in five seats.

Since then, Mr. Gandhi has visited the State several times and admitted that the party did not fight against the last surveys of the Assembly, which led to its disastrous results. Highlighting the problems of Congress in the distribution of tickets, he said: “There are two types of horses, one for races and the other for weddings. They told me that sometimes Congress changes both. We have to stop this in Gujarat.”

Hooking for the 2027 elections, Mr. Gandhi, who was on a two -day visit in Gujarat from April 15 to 16, 2025, launched the ‘Sangathan Srijan Abhigyan’ to build the organization of the party. He promised to reward leaders on the basis of performance and eliminate those who are inactive or who work for the BJP. “The party has also formed a committee that will meet with the district workers and elected possible presidents of the district. These district chiefs will make decisions to administer the district unit without any interference or instructions” from above, “said Mr. Gandhi, adding that they will have a greater word in the selection of candidates for the assembly elections.

“Only Congress can defeat the BJP and RSS. Gujarat is the most important state for the game because the path to the defeat of BJP passes through Gujarat,” Gandhi concluded.