Cong takes cue from BJP, to expand Guj booth network ahead of

In a bid to take on the might of the BJP, which has robust organisational presence in Gujarat, ahead of the 2019 polls, the Congress will appoint two 'Jan Mitra' (people's friend) per booth in all the 45,000 booths across the state to strengthen the party base.

The Congress will also open a special cell to improve its prospects in the urban areas of the state which the BJP counts as its traditional stronghold.

Announcing the "Jan Mitra" plan, newly-appointed Gujarat Congress unit president Amit Chavda today said the 'jan mitras' would also help to solve the problems of people living in the areas covered by the booths.

 

"We have decided to strengthen our party base. We will appoint two Jan Mitra (people's friend) per booth in all the 45,000 booths of the state," said Chavda.

"These Jan Mitra, will not only manage booths during an election time but they will also help solve the problems of people," he said.

Chavda said the appointments of 'jan mitras', to be effected in the next three months, would make the Congress stronger at the booth level.

Conceding that the Congress has failed to make impact in urban areas of the state for a long time, Chavda said a special cell would be opened for "strengthening the party's acceptability among urban people and upgrading the organisation in the urban areas".

The ruling BJP's scratchy victory in the 2017 state assembly polls has much to do with its dominance in the urban areas of the state.

In 2017, the BJP managed to retain power for a sixth term, but with a reduced tally. While the saffron party pocketed 99 seats out of the total 182 seats, the Congress improved its performance upon 2012 polls by winning 77 seats.

The results suggest the BJP did well in urban constituencies whereas the Congress gained mostly in the rural parts.

Chavda said he and Leader of the Opposition Paresh Dhanani would travel to each district in the state where they would interact with Congress workers and try to boost their confidence ahead of the 2019 polls.

He also announced the party's plans to celebrate the birth anniversary of Dalit icon B R Ambedkar in a big way on April 14.

"The NDA government wants to take away reservations of SC, ST and OBC communities slowly. They are moving in that direction. We will oppose it," said Chavda, an OBC leader.