So long, 24 Akbar Road! Congress moves to new headquarters after 47 years

The Congress party will move to its new headquarters, which has been inaugurated today, after 47 years of conducting its business out of 24 Akbar Road. The Type VII bungalow in the heart of Lutyens’ Delhi, had become synonymous with the party, which had won elections, hosted dignitaries, seen the ups and downs of the grand old party for nearly 50 years. 

Congress will now move to its new office, Indira Gandhi Bhawan at Kotla Road, a few kilometres away, marking a significant moment in the party’s 139 years of history. 

The 9A Kotla Marg headquarters is built over a two-acre plot. The building is of five storeys, with media clearance only for the ground floor. The BJP headquarters is also a few kilometres away from the building. 

The inauguration of the new headquarters was attended by Congress leaders from across the country, including Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party, Mallikarjun Kharge, President of INC, and Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha. Former chief ministers, union ministers, members of parliament, members of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) were in attendance. 

According to the party, about 400 leaders have been invited to attend the ceremony, including CWC members, Permanent and Special Invitees, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) Presidents, Congress Legislative Party (CLP) Leaders, Members of Parliament from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, AICC Secretaries, Joint Secretaries, and Heads of Departments and Cells. Former Chief Ministers, PCC Presidents, CLP Leaders, Union Ministers, and General Secretaries of the AICC are also among the prominent invitees.

Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan said, “24, Akbar Road was historic and will remain historic. It gave us four Prime Ministers, we were in power for 24 years and in the opposition for 22 years...We had good days and bad days, both in that office. Congress party and the country got a lot from that office...We are going to move into this new headquarters 'Indira Bhawan' with a lot of enthusiasm…” 

Pratap Singh Bajwa called the move a “very good sign”, and Ambika Soni said the new headquarters will herald good tidings for Congress. 

24 AKBAR ROAD

Built by Sir Edwin Lutyens between 1911 and 1925, 24 Akbar Road was allotted to G Venkatswamy, a Rajya Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh, who chose to side with Indira Gandhi at a time when most Congress leaders had distanced themselves from her for fear of retaliation from the then ruling Janata Party.

After the Emergency, Mohammad Yunus offered his residence, 12 Willingdon Crescent, to the Gandhi family, which was filled to capacity and 24 Akbar Road was chosen as the official Congress headquarters.