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Cong Gets A New Address, 9A Kotla Marg

The Congress will finally have its own premises in New Delhi. Never mind that it is coming 15 years too late. At least it has come up in the midst of Delhi Assembly elections which the party is fighting with renewed vigour. The foundation stone of Indira Bhawan (IB) was laid by Sonia Gandhi, as Congress President, on the party’s 125th anniversary in December 2009. On the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti, January 15, she will be launching IB as CPP chairperson. Party sources said MCD clearance had delayed IB’s opening by four months. The Congress led by Indira Gandhi had moved into 24 Akbar Road office — a Type VII Lutyens bungalow — in 1978 when the party was out of power for the first time since Independence. It was offered by a Lok Sabha Dalit MP from Telangana. Ironically, when it is moving out of the bungalow, the party is also out of power. Nevertheless, there is a lot of confidence among Congress leaders that the party could see a comeback. Much hope is riding on Priyanka Gandhi, as she is a MP now. Meanwhile, to avoid having the BJP icon in its address, the Congress chose to have its front gate on Kotla Marg, which is essentially the rear of the plot. As a result, 9A Kotla Marg will become its new address. This has of course got many Cong men wondering if the vaastu for the hi-tech building is perfect.  This is the fourth time Congress will be moving its party’s office since independence. From 7 Jantar Mantar Road to 5 Rajendra Prasad Road in 1971 and then to 24 Akbar Road in 1978. In 2015, the Centre cancelled the allotment of 4 bungalows given to the Congress — including 24 Akbar Road.  In contrast, the BJP built its headquarters in 6A Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg in a record time of 18 months in Feb 2018.