Rahul Gandhi takes stock of key political issues of Maharashtra, asks office-bearers to stand by party ideology

This was Rahul Gandhi’s second visit to Maharashtra in a fortnight, coming days after his ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’ address in Pune. Photo: Special Arrangement

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday (September 2, 2026) sought a detailed assessment of key political issues in Maharashtra, including the deletion of names from the electoral rolls, Maratha and OBC reservation issues and tribal protests, during a day-long visit to Nashik for the party’s ‘Sanghatan Srujan Abhiyan’.This was his second visit to the State in a fortnight, coming days after his ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’ address in Pune. Mr, Gandhi spent the day in Nashik at the concluding session of a 10-day residential training camp for newly appointed Congress district presidents.“He came in the morning and first held a closed-door meeting with the top State leaders. There were around 20 of us. He asked us about key issues in the State, including the deletion of names in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the ongoing Maratha agitation, the OBC reservation issue, the tribal protests, the opposition to the multi-crore Shaktipeeth super expressway and alleged corruption in the Kumbh Mela, which is slated to be held in Nashik,” a senior leader told The Hindu after the meeting.Later, Mr. Gandhi interacted with the families of the district Congress committee presidents before addressing the concluding session of the training camp. He urged the district presidents to expand the organisation and take the Congress’s ideology to people across the State.A lesson in jiu-jitsuHe also gave the district presidents a demonstration and introduction to the martial art of jiu-jitsu. He then interacted with protesting tribal students from Nashik, Pune, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Nagpur. “He heard their concerns and assured them that the Congress party would stand with them in their struggle,” a party leader said.When asked about the highlights of the visit, Congress leader Naseem Khan said Mr. Gandhi urged the district presidents to fight strongly for the party’s ideals and to fight for justice and fairness for the people.Another leader said the visit signified the growing focus on Maharashtra for Mr Gandhi. “Within days of visiting Pune, he came here. Not just did he come here, he spent an entire day. He is also likely to visit Vidarbha soon,” said the leader.The senior State leaders present for the meeting with Mr. Gandhi on Wednesday morning included State Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal, Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar, Congress group leader in the Legislative Council Satej alias Bunty Patil, Congress Working Committee member Balasaheb Thorat, Naseem Khan, MP Chandrakant Handore, Manikrao Thakare, Rajnitai Patil, Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad, MP Praniti Shinde, MLA Vishwajeet Kadam, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress senior vice-president Mohan Joshi, All India Congress Committee secretaries B.M. Sandeep, Rehana Chishti and Vamshi Reddy. Published - September 02, 2026 08:06 pm IST