Rahul Gandhi Reaches Out To Students Through 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' Initiative

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is set to launch a youth outreach campaign in Uttarakhand with the 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' (Voice of Students) programme in Dehradun on July 17, where he will interact with students and competitive examination aspirants. The event, modelled on his engagement with students in Rajasthan's coaching hub of Kota, will mark his first direct interaction with Uttarakhand’s student community and is being viewed by the Congress as a key political exercise ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. Party leaders said the programme is aimed at engaging young voters on issues affecting students, including employment opportunities, recruitment delays and the education system.

Congress insiders also see the event as an opportunity to assess public sentiment among the youth and the wider electorate before the state heads to the polls in 2027. According to Uttarakhand Congress chief spokesperson Garima Mehra Dasouni, the response to the campaign has been significant. She said 2,54,142 students had registered on the campaign website, chhatronkigoonj.in, by Tuesday afternoon. The registrations, she added, continue to increase and include participants not only from Uttarakhand but also from other parts of the country. “The figures are rising steadily and are being updated continuously. Registrations have come not only from Uttarakhand but from students across the country,” Dasouni said.

Organisers are preparing for the participation of more than 20,000 students at the venue in Dehradun, while delegations from districts across Uttarakhand are also expected to attend. The Congress believes that if online registrations translate into a large turnout, the event could become one of the party’s biggest youth mobilisation programmes in the state in recent years. “Students from the entire state are eager to hear Rahul Gandhi. The overall response could be much larger. In the coming months, the campaign will also be taken to every corner of Uttarakhand,” Dasouni said.

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During the interaction, Rahul Gandhi is expected to focus on issues that have resonated with young people in the state, including unemployment, alleged examination paper leaks, delays in government recruitment, rising inflation and challenges within the education system. These subjects have frequently featured in the Congress leader’s public engagements across the country and are likely to form the core of his address in Dehradun. The programme comes as political parties intensify preparations for the 2027 Uttarakhand Assembly elections, with both the Congress and the ruling BJP seeking to strengthen their outreach among first-time and young voters.

The Congress hopes the initiative will help build momentum by directly engaging with students and job aspirants, a demographic that has increasingly voiced concerns over employment prospects and recruitment processes. Beyond the July 17 event, the party plans to expand the 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' campaign across Uttarakhand, taking similar interactions to different parts of the state. Congress leaders believe sustained engagement with students and youth will help shape the party’s campaign narrative in the run-up to the next Assembly election, where employment, education and governance are expected to be among the key issues.

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