Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday called for a structural overhaul in the Gujarat Congress, asserting that a faction within the party is “conniving with the BJP from within”.

Addressing party workers and former candidates of local body elections in Ahmedabad, Gandhi said there are two groups of Congress leaders in the state—one that is well-connected with the people and carries the Congress ideology in their hearts, and another that is disconnected from the ground, does not respect the public, and is working in collusion with the BJP.

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“Our first task is to separate these two groups. If we have to take strict action and remove 30-40 people, then we should do that. If people are working for BJP from inside, then remove them and let them work for BJP from outside. Then let’s see how they make space for themselves there, because they (BJP) will throw them out,” Gandhi asserted.

The Gandhi scion further urged Gujarat Congress officials and workers to establish direct connections with the public, stating, “Only then will the public believe in you.”

He highlighted that the opposition already holds 40 per cent of the votes in the state and the Congress only need to increase its vote share by only 5 per cent to return to power.

“If you field two people anywhere in the state, one will be from BJP and the other from Congress. If our vote increases by 5% in Gujarat, Congress will form the government. In Telangana, we have increased our votes by 22%, here only 5% is needed,” he stated.

Laying down an action plan for party leaders in Gujarat, Gandhi stressed the importance of grassroots politics to revive the party in the state, which has been the stronghold of the BJP for the last three decades.

“Our ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ has shown how people connect. During the journey from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, the people joined the Congress Party and the politics of the country changed. Our leaders will have to go among the people of Gujarat. We will have to go door-to-door to the people and listen to their voices. We need to ask the public what we can do for you.”

Gandhi reminded the party workers of the contributions of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in shaping the Congress Party and the country’s freedom struggle.

“When the Congress Party was facing the British, we were looking for leadership everywhere in the country. Congress Party was representing the people of India, but we got the leadership from Gujarat, whose name was Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi’s leadership gave us a way to think, fight, and live. Without Gandhiji, the Congress Party would not have been able to bring freedom to the country.

“Along with Gandhiji, Gujarat also gave us Sardar Patel… Gujarat showed the way to India. Two of our biggest leaders in the Congress party were from Gujarat. Today, once again, Gujarat is trying to find a way,” he said.

Gandhi’s remarks come at a time when Congress is looking to revive its political fortunes in Gujarat, a state where the party has struggled against the BJP’s electoral dominance for decades.