In his brief opening remarks at the Congress plenary, party chief Rahul Gandhi said though the session was talking about the future and change, it could not move ahead without the experience of seniors.
“If the youth will take the Congress party forward, the party will not move forward without the experienced leaders. So, my task is to unite the seniors and the youth, to give a new direction,"Mr Gandhi said.
Winds of change
But change was clearly visible. The party had done away with the practice of senior leaders sitting on “ gaddas ” (mattresses) on stage.
Surrounded by hi-tech LED screens, leaders were invited on stage to speak from a lectern. Senior leaders like Janardan Dwivedi and Moti Lal Vohra who would conduct the proceedings gave way to younger leaders like Lok Sabha MP Sushmita Dev, Youth Congress leaders Ragini Nayak and Nadeem Javed.
Panel discussions
For the first time, the party held panel discussions on key topics and challenges ahead such as the role of the media. Titled the ‘Power of Truth’, well known journalist Kumar Ketkar moderated the session with veteran journalist Mrinal Pande, party leaders Kapil Sibal, Randeep Surjewala, Sushmita Dev, Rajeev Gowda and Congress social media head Divya Spandana participating.
Mr. Gandhi effected a change in his social media profile, changing his verified twitter handle from ‘Office of Rahul Gandhi’ to just ‘Rahul Gandhi’.
Another first was to allow ordinary worker take stage and speak on issues that were debated at the session. Workers from States such as Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Kerala and others spoke on issues like agrarian woes, job creation, encouraging loyal functionaries inside the party and many pitched for Mr Gandhi as the next Prime Minister.
