The Congress has rolled out an ambitious, time-bound nationwide mobilisation to oppose the scrapping of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, positioning the issue of rural employment at the centre of its political messaging in a year crowded with elections. Through this campaign, the party is testing both its organisational capacity to reach rural voters and its ability to re-energise a cadre that has faced repeated electoral setbacks in recent months.
Branded as MGNREGA Bachao Abhiyaan, the 45-day campaign was launched on January 10 and will continue until February 25. It is aimed squarely at challenging the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government’s decision to repeal the UPA-era employment guarantee law and replace it with the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or VB-GRAMG. The Congress believes that despite changing political narratives, the question of assured rural livelihoods still resonates deeply, particularly among farm labourers and daily-wage workers.
For the Congress, the campaign represents a politically high-risk but potentially high-reward gamble. The party continues to project MGNREGA as a crucial safety net for rural households and argues that its replacement will push additional financial responsibilities onto already debt-burdened state governments. At the same time, party strategists acknowledge that this agitation is structurally different from earlier mass movements such as the farmers’ protests. The primary beneficiaries of MGNREGA—daily-wage labourers—lack both the time and resources to participate in prolonged demonstrations. As a result, the campaign has been deliberately designed to function at the micro level, focusing on villages and small community gatherings rather than sustained mass sit-ins.
According to the party’s internal roadmap, the agitation is being executed in carefully sequenced phases. Initial preparatory activities, including internal meetings, press briefings and symbolic fasts, were conducted between January 8 and 11. From January 12 to 29, the emphasis shifted to village chaupals, door-to-door pamphlet distribution and nukkad sabhas aimed at direct engagement with local communities. A nationwide sit-in was planned for January 30, followed by district-level dharnas until February 6, Vidhan Sabha gheraos from February 7 to 15, and finally zonal rallies organised by the All India Congress Committee between February 16 and 25.
The Congress has attempted to structure the campaign across all organisational tiers—panchayat, block, district and state—while keeping in mind that MGNREGA workers cannot afford to lose multiple days of income to attend protests. Even with this calibrated approach, mobilising and motivating party workers has emerged as a significant challenge. Harsh winter conditions, recent defeats in assembly elections and an aggressive BJP ground presence have all contributed to low morale. The pressure is further compounded by upcoming elections in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry, where state units are expected to simultaneously campaign and rebuild organisational strength.
In Haryana, the centrally issued blueprint triggered immediate activity across districts, with MPs, former MPs and ex-Lok Sabha candidates assigned responsibility for overseeing assembly segments. However, implementation ran into logistical difficulties. A training camp for newly appointed district presidents from Haryana and Uttarakhand in Kurukshetra tied up key organisers until January 22, limiting on-ground coordination. While some party insiders expressed concern over the absence of district presidents, state Congress president Narendra Rao downplayed the issue, stating that senior-leader-led committees were handling assembly-level execution and that monitoring was taking place daily through district panels. He pointed to visible activities such as press conferences and fasts led by leaders including Bhupendra Hooda, Selja Kumari and Randeep Surjewala.
Madhya Pradesh has emerged as another key testing ground, with the campaign being closely watched as a measure of the Congress’s grassroots reach in the Hindi heartland. Press conferences were organised across districts, and fasts marked the campaign’s opening day. State Congress president Jeetu Patwari framed the issue in stark terms, arguing that while the party is not opposed to a new rural employment scheme, dismantling MGNREGA undermines the economic backbone of rural India. He warned that debt-ridden states would struggle to finance their share under the new programme, potentially leading to its collapse.
Behind the scenes, however, concerns persist about the pace and depth of mobilisation. With Rahul Gandhi scheduled to visit Indore on January 17 for a separate engagement, attention has been divided. Some senior leaders privately expressed frustration that instructions were being issued from Delhi without sufficient on-ground handholding, cautioning that press conferences alone would not reach MGNREGA workers who are focused on day-to-day survival.
In Uttar Pradesh, the Congress has adopted an even more expansive approach, launching a parallel 100-day programme timed with Priyanka Gandhi’s birthday. The campaign weaves together opposition to the MGNREGA repeal with other local and regional issues. State Congress president Ajay Rai said the party plans to organise nearly 30 panchayat-level programmes in February, culminating in a Mahapanchayat in Varanasi on February 8. Party leaders believe the participation of Rahul or Priyanka Gandhi could significantly boost momentum.
The Congress effort faces stiff resistance from the BJP’s counter-campaign, backed by its extensive organisational machinery and sustained outreach through press conferences and chaupals. In states such as Uttar Pradesh, party workers fear that the political advantage enjoyed by the Modi–Yogi leadership could blunt the campaign unless senior Congress leaders invest greater time and visibility on the ground.
In Maharashtra, the task is even more complex. Delayed local body elections and disappointing recent results have already sapped enthusiasm, making it harder to rally workers around yet another agitation centred on MGNREGA.
As the BJP pushes its new rural employment scheme nationwide, the Congress finds itself walking a political tightrope. Whether the MGNREGA Bachao Abhiyaan can revive anti-incumbency sentiment, mobilise a fatigued organisation and convert protest into electoral dividends ahead of critical state elections remains uncertain. For now, the outcome of this calculated political gamble is still very much undecided.
