Congress will go door to door ahead of 2019 polls

Congress will launch a Lok Sampark Abhiyan, a door to door campaign, from 2 October. The campaign will last until 19 November 2018, that is from Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary to Indira Gandhi’s birth anniversary. The party has decided that it will organise its Lok Sampark Abhiyan on an annual basis between 1 January and 28 January every year. However, keeping the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in mind, the party has decided to conduct the entire drive in October-November this year.

Taking a leaf out of the BJP’s book, Congress has also decided to go to the level of the booths to send the party’s message to the electorate. For this purpose, it plans to appoint 1 crore booth sahayogis (assistants) across the country, with 10 sahayogis for every booth. The Congress expects these people to be its eyes and ears at the booth level. Area booth coordinators will coordinate with the sahayogis of 10 booths each under the overall guidance of the booth coordination committee. Each booth sahayogi will be the nodal person for 20-25 households and will be the Congress president’s emissary to the voters and donors. The sahayogi will be in regular touch with these households and address their grievances.

Each booth sahayogi will reach out to first time voters with a congratulatory letter from the Congress president. He/she will also carry pamphlets and other election paraphernalia carrying the party’s message and criticising the Narendra Modi government.

With a clear focus on voters in the age group of 18 to 24 years, booth sahayogis will not only focus on getting more funds, but also ensure the enrolment of new members. Booth sahayogi will be rewarded with promotions within the organisation and the opportunity to fight elections if they get the maximum number of enrolments.