Bhubaneswar, Feb. 12: Rahul Gandhi has decided to rejuvenate the party in six states, including Odisha, where the organisation has become weak.

He has chosen to launch the exercise from Odisha, which he will visit for two days beginning February 18.

During his two-day visit, Rahul will interact with the Congress block and district unit presidents.

“He will personally discuss various organisational matters with all the district unit presidents to know the ways that will help revamp the organisation,” said a senior AICC member.

Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Niranjan Patnaik said: “The PCC has extended an invitation to him to come on a visit. He accepted it and coming to Odisha. He is trying to prepare guidelines.”

According to the scheduled programme, Rahul will reach Sambalpur on February 18 and interact with the presidents of 17 organisational districts. Next day, Rahul will talk to presidents of the remaining organisational districts in Cuttack. Senior leaders of the party will also be invited to attend the meeting.

Aware of the challenges before the party, a senior Congress leader said: “It will be difficult for the faction-ridden party to give a fight to Naveen Patnaik after he announced a number of programmes, including theRe 1-per-kg-rice scheme.”

Similarly, the strength of the Congress has taken a nosedive since its defeat in the 2000 Assembly poll. While the Congress formed the government with 88 MLAs in 1995-2000, it went down to 25 in 2000. However, it slightly improved its situation and was able to add another 14 seats to its kitty by securing 39 seats in 2004 polls. However, it slid to 27 in 2009.