Congress' door-to-door campaign begins from Oct 2

Congress has rolled out its 'booth sahyogis' as a counter to BJP's 'panna pramukh', ahead of the door-to-door campaign it plans to launch from October 2 for the Lok Sabha elections next year.

During the Lok Sampark Abhiyan (door-to-door) campaign, that will last till November 19 – the birth anniversary of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Congress workers have been tasked with distributing publicity material, reaching out to first-time voters and also collect funds for the party's poll kitty.

The door-to-door campaign was given final touches at a meeting of PCC Presidents and PCC Treasurers convened by AICC General Secretary Ashok Gehlot earlier this month.

According to the plans drawn up by the Congress, one crore booth sahyogis will be “energised” for the campaign with each one given the task to reach out to 20-25 households. Each polling booth will have 10 sahyogis who will together maintain regular contact with 250 households.

The move is seen as a counter to the BJP's aggressive plans to reach out to voters by having an elaborate network of 'panna pramukhs' put in place by BJP President Amit Shah. According to the BJP plan, a 'panna pramukh' is responsible for voters listed on a single side of a page – approximately a dozen.

The door-to-door campaign will be an annual exercise to be conducted between January 1 and February 28 every year. “However, keeping the 2019 elections in mind, this year the campaign will begin from October 2 to November 19,” according to a circular issued by Gehlot to PCC chiefs.

Directives have also been issued to PCC chiefs to ensure that there were no vacancies in the organisation at state, district and block level and make appointments, if required, by September 25.

The booth sahyogis will have to submit a list of pro-Congress NGOs and co-operatives, charitable and religious institutions, details of NRIs, influencers, opinion makers, businessmen and traders in their assigned area.

An elaborate rewards mechanism has also been put in place with top achievers being considered for posts within the organisation or an opportunity to contest elections.