Rahul Gandhi does 10 push-ups for being late at Congress training; BJP calls it a ‘jungle safari break’

Rahul Gandhi

A routine training session for Congress workers in Madhya Pradesh turned into an unexpected fitness drill when Rahul Gandhi was asked to do push-ups for showing up late. The Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha sportingly complied, setting off a round of laughter and team spirit among party workers.

According to party sources, the incident happened during a training session in Pachmarhi, where the Congress was holding its ‘Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan’ — an organisational revitalisation exercise. Gandhi, who took time out from the Bihar election campaign to attend, arrived late to one of the sessions.

Sachin Rao, who headed the training, informed Gandhi that latecomers had to face a “penal action.” When Gandhi asked what it was, Rao replied, “At least 10 push-ups.” The Congress leader, dressed casually in a white T-shirt and trousers, immediately got down and did the push-ups. District Congress presidents who were also late followed suit, turning the rule into a light-hearted team-building activity.

“We received a very good response from district presidents,” Gandhi later said, adding that the exercise lifted the group’s morale.

Gandhi also used the Pachmarhi meet to accuse the BJP and the Election Commission of large-scale poll irregularities. “A few days ago, I presented the Haryana model where 25 lakh votes were stolen — one vote from every eight. This is their system. The main issue is ‘vote chori’. We have evidence and will release it one by one,” he said.

The BJP, however, mocked the Congress leader, alleging he was on a “vacation” in the middle of the Bihar campaign. “LoP means Leader of Paryatan and partying for Rahul Gandhi. Even as Bihar elections are on, Rahul Gandhi goes for vacation. Election in Bihar, Rahul Gandhi (is) enjoying a ‘Jungle Safari’ in Pachmarhi,” BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said on X.

Taking a poetic swipe, he added, “This shows his priorities. When they lose elections, they will blame ECI & do a PowerPoint presentation on H Files (holiday files). Ta umr Congress yeh galti karti rahi, dhool chehre pe thi Congress aaina saaf karti rahi.”