Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Monday, 2 November 2026 chaired a high-level strategy meeting in New Delhi with All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charges, state unit presidents, and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leaders from Manipur and Uttarakhand, signalling a concerted organisational push ahead of the 2027 assembly elections in both states.

What Venugopal Said

AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, in a post on X, said the anti-incumbency mood on display at Ramlila Maidan the previous day was merely a glimpse of the broader sentiment building against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments in both states. He alleged that 'hatred, loot, land-grab and total misgovernance' defined what he called the BJP's 'trouble engine' model.

On Manipur, Venugopal alleged that the state continued to be consumed by ethnic conflict, which he attributed to the ruling regime. He noted that voters had already rejected the BJP in both Lok Sabha seats in the 2024 general elections, and claimed the party would be swept out entirely in 2027.

Uttarakhand Grievances in Focus

Turning to Uttarakhand, Venugopal alleged that even religious sites in what he called 'Devbhoomi' had not been spared from what he termed 'Chanda Chori' — a reference to alleged financial irregularities the Congress has linked to the BJP in Ayodhya and elsewhere. He further alleged that large tracts of mountain terrain were being transferred to corporate interests, disregarding environmental warnings.

The AICC general secretary also raised the concerns of the youth and women of Uttarakhand, citing leaked examination papers and what he described as a failure of justice in the Ankita Bhandari case as examples of governance breakdown under the current dispensation.

Organisational Blueprint

The discussions at the meeting, according to Venugopal, centred on intensifying the party's grassroots outreach and building a coordinated campaign that foregrounds governance failures, local aspirations, and public discontent. The Congress is reportedly aiming for a unified command structure across both states well ahead of the poll cycle.

Venugopal asserted that by 2027, the Congress would secure a thumping majority in both Manipur and Uttarakhand, unseating the BJP and restoring what he called a 'people's regime.'

Context: Why These Two States Matter

Both Manipur and Uttarakhand are currently governed by the BJP, and both go to the polls in 2027. Manipur has been under sustained strain due to prolonged ethnic violence since May 2023, a situation the Opposition has repeatedly flagged in Parliament. Uttarakhand, meanwhile, has seen controversy over paper leaks in competitive examinations and ongoing debates over land use in ecologically sensitive mountain zones. The Congress's decision to convene joint reviews for both states — with its top two leaders present — underscores that the party views them as winnable.

What Comes Next

The meeting suggests the Congress intends to launch state-specific campaigns substantially before election season, a departure from its historically late organisational mobilisation. How effectively the party translates leadership-level strategy into booth-level presence will be closely watched, particularly in Manipur, where ethnic fault lines complicate traditional electoral arithmetic.