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Cong on reorganisational mode for Assembly polls

By PRANJAL BHUYAN - 15 Sep 2010 12:00 AM GMT

GUWAHATI, Aug 9 - With the next Assembly elections only months away, the Congress has set in motion a Statewide exercise to �reorganise� its units at the ground level.

The party is also working on formulating a separate policy document targeting the youths and another one on ways to revive Assam�s economy.

�We have started a process of reorganising our units at the booth level. We have 26,000 booth committees in Assam and we intend to complete the exercise by September 10. Our aim is to weed out non-performers, give more representation to active workers, as well as to women, youths and students,� a senior office-bearer of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) told this newspaper. The party is focusing on what it termed �micro-management�.

�After all, at the end of the day, it is the booth-level workers who move among the masses, disseminating the party�s plans and policies and encouraging the voters to come to the polling booth. That is why the revamp is happening from the grassroots. Barring the 14 Assembly segments in the BTAD region, where we face some organisational weaknesses, our foundations are solid in the rest of Assam. However, successive electoral defeats had some effect on our workers. With this latest exercise, we are looking at not only rallying our workers once more, but also encouraging the active ones by giving them more responsibility,� said the leader.

In addition, the party is also making changes at the block and district levels as well by changing office-bearers.

�Some non-performing senior office-bearers at the block and district committees have been replaced. With elections only months away, there is no room for complacency,� the senior leader added.

Meanwhile, the Congress will bring out a separate document highlighting its policies for the youth segment. �The BJP came to power on the back of the support from youths, but the saffron party later betrayed them. Youths of Assam are now looking for an alternative. We will formulate a separate policy for that segment of voters. Besides, we are also working on another such document which will explain in detail what we intend to do to revive Assam�s economy if we manage to capture power at Dispur in 2021,� said another leader of the grand old party.

The Congress will also undertake agitations on a number of issues in coming weeks. �So far we have only held public protests against the �betrayal� by the BJP on the flood and erosion issue. Now, we will go among the public to highlight other unfulfilled promises of the ruling party, like granting of ST status to six communities, growing unemployment and cuts in Central funds and schemes,� he added.