Ahmedabad, Apr 15 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday spoke at an “orientation meeting” with AICC and Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) observers here and offered guidance on the selection of presidents of 41 district units in Gujarat as part of a pilot project to strengthen such units, party leaders said.

Teams of observers will suggest six names for each post of district unit head, and the final selection will be made by May 31, they said.

Gandhi highlighted the need for leaders to participate in the people’s struggles and raise their issues as the people are fed up with the government, former MLA Gyasuddin Shaikh said after the meeting.

The party will not gain public support unless leaders reach out to them, Gandhi said at the two-hour-long programme at the state headquarters of the Congress here.

On April 12, the All India Congress Committee appointed 42 AICC and 183 PCC observers for overseeing the appointment of party committee presidents in 33 districts and eight major cities of Gujarat.

A panel of five observers — one from AICC and four from PCC — will visit the district unit assigned to it, stay in the district for at least three days and meet local party workers and people.

“On Wednesday, the pilot project will be launched from Aravalli district in north Gujarat where Rahul ji will hold dialogue with district-level leaders and later meet booth-level party workers. This pilot program is being launched from a district with 8.51 lakh voters,” senior Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil said.

“Rahul ji offered us guidance on the choice of district presidents. A five-member team of observers will visit all 41 district units between April 23 and May 8,” former state Congress chief Jagdish Thakor said.

Observers will have to stay in the district assigned to them for a minimum of three days, where they will hold meetings with workers at the block level and meet local people, he said.

“The focus of observers will not be an individual or a group. They will have to take into account a wider set of factors such as social equations and geographical location of the area,” Thakor said.

The observers will prepare a report with a panel of six names for the post, and submit it to the state unit, which will then finalise the selection, Shaikh said.

“At Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan, Ahmedabad, LOP Sh. @RahulGandhi ji addressed the orientation program for District Observers who will be a crucial part of our Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan in Gujarat,” General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal said in a tweet.

“Rahul ji guided us on strengthening the party so that our organisation stands strong down to the booth level. Ideology requires publicity. We will start this from Gujarat and take it to the national level,” said Lok Sabha member Imran Masood.

A nine-member committee appointed by the AICC had recommended strengthening district units and giving more powers to their presidents.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) which met here last week gave its nod to the recommendations, and decided to launch a pilot project in Gujarat.

The Congress has been out of power in Gujarat for three decades. PTI KA KRK