The Congress Party in West Bengal is keen on attracting and encouraging "young faces" to get associated with the party, a strategy that is a part of the party’s "reboot" nationally, said Ritzu Ghosal, Pradesh Congress general secretary, and member, AICC.
“We are building the party from scratch, taking one step at a time. We had thought of 5-6 seats in the Kolkata municipal elections (held recently), considering our strengths. We got two in the Kolkata elections,” Ghosal told DH, adding that the party is optimistic about regaining momentum. “After the 2021 elections, most predicted that voters will get polarised (further). Despite that we won two seats. This is a silver lining,” he added.
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The party, despite having contested 91 seats in the state assembly elections this year, failed to win a seat but had 9.72 per cent of vote share in seats contested. While not having fielded candidates on all 144 seats, the party managed a vote share of 4.12 per cent, and two seats, in the recently held Kolkata municipal elections. Congress candidates stood second on 17 of the seats it contested in municipal elections. The BJP with 9.21 per cent votes won three seats.
The Congress is keen on participation in the upcoming civic elections in four major corporations, scheduled to take place on January 22. The AICC member claims that as the party is being "rebuilt" nationwide, Bengal too is at the forefront, with more young faces being given a chance. “We are targeting the future, it’s not about one or two elections,” Ghosal said, adding, “What we are doing in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, we are following the same pattern in West Bengal."
Senior leaders in the party in the state are encouraging young faces to take up responsibilities, and there will be many young people playing greater roles in the party in the state, feels Ghosal.
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