Congress, which will celebrate its 137th foundation day on Tuesday, is making efforts to get back its lost electoral ground ahead of the 2024 general elections while emphasising its role as the major opposition force to take on the BJP-led government amid challenge from some other parties.
Having faced drubbings in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls and a series of losses in assembly polls, the past year was also challenging for Congress as it failed to win any election in the states that went to the polls.
The party also faced factionalism in the two major states it rules - Punjab and Chhattisgarh. In Punjab, Capt Amarinder Singh resigned as chief minister amid internal conflict and has now formed its own party to fight the assembly polls in alliance with the BJP.
The Congress is gearing up anew for 2024 and hopes to build momentum by performing well in the coming assembly polls.
The party is also trying to put the BJP-led government on the back foot through country-wide agitations and demonstrations on issues such as price rise.
After its campaign on inflation and a rally in Jaipur, Congress is now planning to raise the issue of unemployment and privatization of government companies. Sources said a nine-member committee led by party veteran Digvijay Singh is preparing the outline of the protest campaigns in these issues. The committee also includes party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and leader party Ragini Nayak.
Congress has also started a big training programme with a goal to prepare around 5,500 trainers from state, district and block levels across the country. These trainers will drive the party's message on the ground through debates and discussions in neighbourhood shops including tea stalls.
In its training programme, the party is also mulling to take help from thinkers and historians and Aditya Mukherjee and Ram Punyani are among those who have been contacted in this regard.
The first such training programme was held in Wardha in November this year where a five-day camp was organized. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addressed the Wardha camp virtually. In the coming time, these trainers will expand the cadre of party workers across the country in order to actively raise pubic-related issues and the "failures of the current government at the centre", party sources said.
Congress is also going to launch a missed call number to connect the people.
With the slogan "Jaat par na paat par, button dabega haath par", Congress is also countering efforts being made by different parties to attract caste groups and is making attempt to link the issue of unemployment and privatization of government companies with reservation.
The party will try to reach out to people to convey that privatization will reduce government jobs and end the benefits of reservation.
Besides, public outreach campaigns, Congress has also conducted bullock cart rallies and tractor yatra to catch the attention of the people and the media.
According to sources, Congress is preparing pamphlets in local languages to propagate the facts related to Veer Savarkar and the efforts by its rivals to talk about perceived tensions between India's first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and the country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Party leaders said such efforts will help it "corner the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh".
Congress leaders said that the grand old party "will write a new chapter for 2024" after being pushed back by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in two consecutive general elections. Congress is also making efforts to increase its vote share by reaching out to various sections including women and unorganised workers.
In the past year, Congress suffered defeats in Assam and Kerala and failed to win a single seat in West Bengal as the dismal show by the party continued in this round of assembly polls.
The party also fared poorly in Puducherry, which it ruled for nearly five years before V Naranasamy resigned as Chief Minister in February this year due to the loss of the majority. Only in Tamil Nadu, where Congress is a junior ally of DMK, did Congress perform credibly riding on the success of its alliance partner.
Congress had fared poorly in Bihar elections in November last year too.
Party leaders said that preparations are being made at every level to perform well in assembly polls this year.
The coming year will also see the party getting a new president at the culmination of its organisational elections.
( With inputs from ANI )
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