Delhi Cong to double block panels

After humiliating defeats in the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, the Congress plans to empower its block-level committees in Delhi and nearly double their number from the current 140 in a bid to revive its fortunes.

To attract new members, Delhi unit chief Ajay Maken has also proposed that the annual membership fee of Rs 250 should be restricted to a one-time fee of Rs 25 and membership forms should be available round-the-clock through internet and smartphone Apps also.

The block committees are likely to get a bigger say in the spending of development funds of party MPs, legislators and councillors. The grassroots party committees will also suggest the names of candidates to whom the party should give tickets in elections, according to a Congress councillor.

“The suggestions on changes in the party’s organisational structure in the city have been sent to the central leadership,” said a close aide of Maken.

The Delhi Congress president’s proposal sent to Delhi incharge P C Chacko said there should be a block committee in each of the 272 wards.

“At present, there are around 140 Congress committees,” said a party leader.
Maken has proposed that block committees shall have at least one meeting every month. Each block committee shall send a copy of its decisions to the city unit office for uploading them on the party website.

The party revival plan also talks about stipulating at least one monthly meeting for district-level committee and the state-level Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee.
Maken’s proposal sent to Chacko also talks of discontinuing the practice of enrolling new members separately for the youth wing, women’s wing and volunteers’ group.

“The party should stick to a single membership system wherein there would be no separate drive for the different wings,” said a former legislator of the party.

A system of active member and primary member would also be revived in the Delhi Congress. A party member who enrols 25 primary members would be designated as an active member.

“An active member shall be eligible for holding a party post in the block committee,” said the party leader. The party also plans to increase the reservation for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, other backward classes and minorities in party committees from 20 per cent to 50 per cent.