Congress inaugurates Indira Gandhi Bhawan, leaving old HQ after 47 yrs

The party's new national headquarters at 9A, Kotla Road in New Delhi saw a 15 year delay in construction

Senior Congress leader and Congress Parliamentary Party Chief Sonia Gandhi inaugurated the party’s new national headquarters at 9A, Kotla Road, New Delhi, on Wednesday. This marks a significant move from the party’s former base at 24, Akbar Road in the Lutyens Bungalow Zone, where it operated for 47 years.

 

The new headquarters has been named Indira Gandhi Bhawan in honour of India’s first woman Prime Minister and stands as a tribute to the legacy of Congress stalwarts, the party said.

 

More than 400 leaders attend inauguration

The event saw the participation of around 400 leaders from across India, including members of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) Presidents, Congress Legislative Party (CLP) Leaders, and Members of Parliament from both houses.

 

 

The event was attended by senior party leaders, including C. The inauguration ceremony began with the hoisting of the party flag, accompanied by chants of ‘Vande Mataram’. Attendees included party Party President Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, Telangana Congress President Revanth Reddy, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

 

SC mandates party HQ relocation

The relocation from the Lutyens Bungalow Zone was necessitated by a Supreme Court directive in 2005-06, mandating political parties to move their registered offices out of the area. The Union Government subsequently identified the zone between the ITO traffic junction and Connaught Place for political party offices, with Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Marg connecting the two landmarks.

 

BJP’s Rs 700 crore Delhi HQ

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) inaugurated its new headquarters in Delhi on February 18, 2018. The building, located at 6-A, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the presence of senior party leaders, including then-BJP President Amit Shah. At 170,000 square feet, this headquarters boasts to be the world's largest political party office and has been equipped with modern facilities to support the party's operational efficiency.

 

The BJP headquarters reportedly cost around Rs 700 crore in construction. In addition to the national headquarters, the BJP has also invested in state-level offices across India. For instance, the party is constructing a new state headquarters in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, with an estimated cost ranging from Rs 75 crore to Rs 100 crore, according to media reports.

 

15 year construction of Congress HQ

The foundation stone for the Indira Gandhi Bhawan was laid in December 2009 by then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi. However, the construction, which spanned 15 years, faced numerous delays.

 

Initiated in November 2016 with an estimated cost of Rs 172 crore, the project was scheduled for completion by November 2018. However, financial constraints, especially after the Congress lost power at the Centre, led to prolonged construction timelines.

 

The five-storey building is designed to accommodate the party’s ‘organisational needs’. The fifth floor will house the offices of key leaders, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi. Meanwhile, the fourth floor is designated for general secretaries, and the third floor will be used by state in-charges. The second floor will cater to all-India secretaries and their staff.

 

Interestingly, the Congress party opted to have the front entrance of its new office on Kotla Road, rather than DDU Marg, named after the Jana Sangh (later BJP) ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyay. This places the new Congress headquarters within walking distance of the BJP's office on DDU Marg. 

The inauguration of Indira Gandhi Bhawan comes just weeks before crucial Assembly polls in Delhi.

 

[With agency inputs]