The Gujarat Congress is witnessing a revival of sorts as several of its old leaders, who had earlier crossed over to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), have begun returning to the party fold. The development follows the appointment of Amit Chavda as the new state Congress president and comes at a time when the party is gearing up for an aggressive campaign against what it calls “vote theft” in the state.

Party insiders believe that this “ghar wapsi” signals a renewed sense of direction under Chavda, who has already started restructuring the organisation down to the booth level. Within weeks of taking charge, he announced the appointment of in-charges for tehsil-level committees, modelled on district presidents, with a focus on strengthening the grassroots to safeguard elections against malpractice.

“The Congress is regaining lost ground in Gujarat,” Chavda declared confidently, stressing that the party’s central mission is to prepare for the 2027 assembly elections.

Congress general secretary and state in-charge Mukul Wasnik echoed this sentiment, telling workers that the recent by-election results showed that the party was not far behind its rivals. He made it clear that the upcoming electoral battle would be nothing like 2022.

“The voter list is the foundation of democracy. If it is flawed, then the results will reflect the same distortions. The Election Commission must take people’s concerns about vote theft seriously,” Wasnik said, sharply criticising what he described as a “serious failure” of the poll body. He announced that Gujarat Congress would soon hold a one-day protest to highlight the issue across the state.

Chavda, meanwhile, continued his attack on the ruling BJP, pointing to rising costs of education and healthcare and accusing the government of failing to generate employment opportunities for the youth. “Anti-people policies are pushing Gujarat backwards. A change of power is essential in the interest of the state,” he said.

He also extended an olive branch to all those returning to the Congress fold. “Many senior leaders, political figures, and grassroots workers are returning to Congress. We welcome them all and assure them of respect. To save democracy and protect the Constitution, we must unite against the BJP’s divisive politics.”