Nashik, Sep 2026 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will undertake a one-day visit to Nashik on Wednesday, where he is scheduled to review the party’s organisational preparedness in Maharashtra, meet senior leaders and interact with tribal representatives and newly appointed district presidents.
Gandhi will meet the newly appointed district Congress presidents at the conclusion of a 10-day training programme being conducted in Nashik. As part of its organisational restructuring, the Maharashtra Congress appointed 69 new district and city presidents in May.
The visit will be Gandhi’s second trip to Maharashtra since August 22, when he attended the Pune leg of the “Chhatron Ki Goonj” student movement. The campaign has focused on issues including alleged paper leaks, examination irregularities and rising education fees.
At the Pune event, Gandhi dedicated his address to the “daughters of the nation” and spoke about women’s safety, rights and social pressures. He also criticised what he described as the “Manusmriti mindset”.
His Nashik visit is expected to primarily focus on strengthening the Congress organisation and evolving the party’s political strategy ahead of future electoral challenges in Maharashtra.
Congress has a long political history in the state, having governed independently until 1995. It subsequently shared power with the Nationalist Congress Party between 1999 and 2014 and was later part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, which governed Maharashtra from 2019 to 2022.
During his visit, Gandhi is also scheduled to address a gathering on “Global Politics and India”. He is expected to discuss the changing international order, challenges facing India’s diplomatic approach and the need to develop democratic production-based economies.
A key component of his visit will be his interaction with tribal students and representatives of the tribal community. According to Congress leaders, Gandhi will listen to their concerns and discuss issues affecting tribal communities and students.
Gandhi has previously raised concerns about conditions in government-run hostels for tribal students. He has alleged that students in some facilities face humiliating rules, inadequate and unsafe infrastructure and poor living conditions.
The issue gained further attention after a tribal student raised concerns during Gandhi’s August 22 programme in Pune. On August 24, Gandhi wrote to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis seeking his intervention after six tribal students launched an indefinite hunger strike in Pune over their demands.
The 17-day protest ended on August 29 after Fadnavis accepted the students’ demands, including recruitment to 12,500 posts.
Meanwhile, tribal students staged a protest in Nashik on Tuesday, a day before Gandhi’s scheduled visit. The demonstration has added significance to his interaction with tribal representatives and students during the visit.
The Congress is expected to use Gandhi’s Nashik programme to reinforce its organisational network across Maharashtra while highlighting issues concerning students, tribal communities and broader political and economic challenges facing the state and country.
