Congress to focus on social base expansion in 'Chintan Shivir'

To increase the vote-share, Congress has decided to focus on increasing its social base and reach out to the groups which have not found place in the party apparatus, sources have said.

Each state has been told to focus on sub-castes and give more representation to them in the party.

The BJP in Uttar Pradesh has successfully withered away non Jatav from the BSP, which is helping them immensely in their vote base. Taking cue from this the party wants to similarly increase its social base in each state, add more people and expand its vote share which has been on decline since 2014.

The special focus will be in Uttar Pradesh where the party managed to win only two seats and the vote share declined to around two per cent. Uttar Pradesh is the biggest state in terms of Lok Sabha seats which sends 80 MPs. The Congress has only one seat in 2019 and now it hopes to rope in the leaders from BSP, who have lost hope in their party, a congress leader said.

The Congress sub-groups have been finalising their reports to be discussed in the Congress working committee (CWC) meeting ahead of the 'Chintan shivir (brainstorming session'). The party is keen to give more representation to the Scheduled Caste and other marginalised communities in the organisation.

The party is gearing up for its three-day Chintan Shivir in Rajasthan's Udaipur that begins on May 13. Party president Sonia Gandhi has sought a draft report from the sub-committees on Monday ahead of the CWC meet which will formalise its agenda. The party will also focus on how to take like-minded parties on board and start the consultation process just after the Chintan Shivir.