Opinion | Rewind 2023: When Congress Lost Its Decades-Old Address

Just as 2024 ushers in, the Grand Old Party is busy packing, shifting from 24, Akbar Road to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg amid uncertainty and a sense of despondency in a year of the Lok Sabha polls. Many moons ago, it was another first day of the year in 1978 when Shoban Singh and 20 other employees of the All India Congress Committee had followed the footsteps of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, entering the portals of 24, Akbar Road.

That was a testing time for Indira and the Congress. She had not only lost all her powers; she had also lost the official residence and the party office. A Type VII bungalow in Lutyens’ Delhi, 24, Akbar Road belonged to G. Venkatswamy, a Rajya Sabha member of parliament (MP) from Andhra Pradesh. Venkatswamy was one of the very few who had chosen to side with Indira Gandhi at a time when most Congress leaders had distanced themselves from her, fearing that proximity to her would invite retaliation from the ruling Janata Party.

24, Akbar Road was chosen as the new official Congress headquarters. For the next four and a half decades, 24, Akbar Road proved quite lucky for the Congress, though it might not have seemed so then, considering the state of shambles the building was in, at the time.

The advantage of the house has been that it has a wicket gate link linking it to 10, Janpath, which, in 1978 was the office of the Indian Youth Congress and ‘adda’ of Sanjay Gandhi and is now the home of Sonia Gandhi whose control over the party has been far more pronounced and longer than Sanjay. For over 45 years, 10, Janpath and 24, Akbar Road forged a formidable link, bringing fame, fortune, success and eventual leadership to the Congress.

In 2023, the Congress has been uneasy and reluctant to shift to the new party office. Allergic to change, it has been dragging its feet since December 28, 2009, when the party celebrated its 125^th foundation day and the anniversary function was held at Indira Gandhi Bhavan at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg. Mallikarjun Kharge, the 88^th president of the AICC wanted to shift to the new premises on December 28, 2023, which marked the 139^th foundation day. But the old timers and time servers shelved the move pointing to the ongoing inauspicious period of ‘malmas’, which would supposedly end on January 14, 2024, and in purely astrological terms, astral directions would become conducive.

The new Congress office, ‘Indira Bhawan’ is on the corner of Kotla Road and Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg. But the Gandhis, reluctant to have the name of its headquarters associated with that of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ideologue Deendayal Upadhyaya, have decided to have the entrance on Kotla Road.

As per the rules formulated by the Union Urban Development Ministry, the Congress was entitled to a four-acre plot as per its existing strength in two houses of Parliament in 2009. But the party accepted a smaller plot of roughly two acres on Kotla Road as it already has another one on Rajendra Prasad Road – which currently houses the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation headed by Sonia in memory of the former prime minister.

For the old-timers, there are many similarities between January 1978 and January 2024. In 1978, the party cadre’s morale was down and coffers were empty. Sardar Buta Singh, who was AICC general secretary at 24, Akbar Road, would often organise meals from Gurudwara Bangla Saheb and bring langar, the free community food served there for hungry Congress members. The simple daal, roti and halwa seemed truly a godsend. In December 2023, the party, though out of power, collected over Rs 3 crore in less than 48 hours after launching its crowdfunding scheme “Donate for Desh.”

In 1978, Indira herself did not have a place to stay. She had readily availed aide Mohammad Yunus’ offer to stay at 12 Willingdon Crescent. 12 Willingdon Crescent became home to the Gandhis. Indira, Rajiv, his wife Sonia, their children, Rahul and Priyanka, Sanjay, Maneka, and five dogs – all moved in, leaving virtually no scope or space for any political activity from there. In 2023, the Congress has several palatial houses – 10, Janpath, 12, Tuqlaq Crescent and 15, Gurudwara Rakabgunj Marg (abbreviated 15 GRG or the Congress War Room) in addition to Kharge occupying a big house at 10, Rajaji Marg.

Interestingly, Rahul has not shifted back to 12, Tuqlaq Crescent even though his Lok Sabha membership was restored in October 2023. Some of his supporters say it is due to an ‘inauspicious’ tag while others say they fear sophisticated surveillance equipment being planted there. Perhaps fear of shadowing is weighing heavily on the Congress’ mind over retention of the party’s war room at 15, Gurudwara Rakabgunj Road. Last heard, the war room is being moved to 17, Gurudwara Rakabgunj bungalow allotted to Congress MP Shakti Sinh Gohil. 15, Gurudwara Rakabgunj Marg residence has been allotted to BJP-backed independent Rajya Sabha MP and media baron Kartikey Sharma.

The writer is a Visiting Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation. A well-known political analyst, he has written several books, including ‘24 Akbar Road’ and ‘Sonia: A Biography’. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.