New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi wants the Congress leaders across the country to get into an agitational mode to take on the BJP and has made their participation in anti-government protests a condition for giving party tickets. The former Congress chief made his views clear recently when he visited Telangana and Gujarat to address a farmer and tribal rally respectively.
“I am just telling you. Don’t come to me if you don’t get a ticket. If you have fought for the tribals, if you have influence, you will get a ticket. Otherwise, you may not get a ticket even if you are a senior leader,” Rahul told party leaders in Dahod, Gujarat on Tuesday. He had delivered a similar message on May 7 in Warrangal, Telangana, where the former Congress said that tickets will be based on feedback against a leader from the workers.
The Congress recently registered 40 lakh, new members, through a digital drive in Telangana. Rahul wants to push a new kind of politics to take on the ruling TRS, which was born out of a movement for a separate state from Andhra Pradesh. The centrality of ground-level feedback to decide the party’s prospective candidates for the assembly or Lok Sabha elections is part of a plan to make the workers feel involved in the decision-making process said a party insider.
“Our workers represent us and fight for the party with political rivals in states but when it comes to giving tickets, a leader’s connection with New Delhi plays a major role. As a result, many times, the deserving candidates are left out. This breeds dissent and demoralizes the workers,” the party insider said.
A review of 2017 Gujarat polls had shown that the party lost some seats due to faulty ticket distribution. After the recent Punjab assembly polls, a section of state leaders had alleged that some tickets were sold by the managers.
Party strategists argued Rahul’s renewed approach to focus on participation in agitations is connected to his efforts to revive the grand old party. “In most states, we are in opposition. We should be seen fighting for the people on the streets and targeting the state governments. This will help us in the long term,” said a senior AICC functionary.
In the past, Rahul has tried to pep up the party workers by comparing them with lions as he urged the rank and file to stay united. “If all you make up your mind to defeat the BJP, you can do it,” he told the workers in Gujarat, where the state unit is trying hard to put up a united front.
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