The Congress party moved its national headquarters at 24 Akbar Road in the national capital to a new address – Indira Gandhi Bhawan at 9A, Kotla Road – on Wednesday.
The new, five-storied office was formally inaugurated by Congress parliamentary party chief Sonia Gandhi in presence of party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Member of Parliament (MP) Priyanka Gandhi, among others.
The 139-year-old party has spent 47 years out of the 24, Akbar Road headquarters in the national capital’s Lutyens Bungalow Zone (LBZ).
The new AICC headquartersRahul Gandhi. The fourth floor will be used by the general secretaries. The state in-charges will occupy the third floor. The second floor will be used by all-India secretaries and their staff.
In 2005-06, after the Supreme Court asked political parties to move their registered offices out of the LBZ, the Union Government identified the area between New Delhi’s ITO (Income Tax Office) traffic junction and Connaught Place, with Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Marg connecting the two landmarks, for allotting land to political parties.
The national headquarters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Marg is a walking distance from the Congress party’s new address. The Congress party decided to have the front entrance of its new office on Kotla Road, instead of DDU Marg, named after Jana Sangh (later BJP) ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyay.
The Inauguration
The shift to a new address comes weeks ahead of assembly polls in the national capital.
The launch event on Wednesday brought together party leaders from across the country. About 400 top leaders were invited to attend the ceremony, including members of the Congress Working CommitteeCongress third candidate list for Delhi election declared
“The Indira Gandhi BhawanManmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi, the then Congress president in December 2009. But it took the party 15 years to complete the construction of the building.
24, Akbar Road – the history
The Congress led by Indira Gandhi moved into 24, Akbar Road office24, Akbar Road— to the party.
Although 24, Akbar Road, started out as a temporary arrangement, the Congress stayed on.
The Congress party’s office since independenceIndira GandhiBusiness News, Politics news,Breaking NewsEvents andLatest News Updates on Live Mint. Download TheMint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
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