Cong men told to reach out to masses, highlight state govt's works

AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka K C Venugopal on Wednesday issued strict instructions to the Congress workers to reach out to households and spread the Siddaramaiah government’s achievements, as part of preparations for the upcoming Assembly elections.

Venugopal met the party’s Other Backward Classes (OBCs), SCs and minorities units, driving home the message that they cannot have the luxury to be complacent in an election year. Party workers will be given handouts, highlighting the state government’s achievements ever since it came to power in May 2013, with which they have to go door-to-door. Party workers were also given the mandate of countering the BJP’s criticism of the party and the government.

With an eye on the polls, the Congress will host a convention of backward classes in December, in which the party vice-president Rahul Gandhi is expected to participate. “The responsibility of ensuring that the Congress retains power lies heavily on backward classes,” KPCC President G Parameshwar said.

On Thursday, Venugopal is scheduled to hold marathon meetings with party workers division-wise and district-wise. Later in the day, Venugopal will hold a separate meeting with ministers at the Clarks Exotica resort in Devanahalli, where he is expected to review their performance in terms of how well they have responded to feedback from the party workers. More importantly, Venugopal will orient ministers to ensure that there is proper coordination between the party and the government.