Sensing a chance of revival in Bihar, particularly when other Opposition parties like the RJD and the lJP have yet to make any deep inroads into the anti-NDA vote banks, the Bihar Congress has now engaged itself in a comprehensive micro-level assessment to ascertain performance of their candidates in the last elections and identify new leaders with an objective to emerge as a major player in the 2014 lok Sabha elections.
The State party leadership undertook the long task of assessing the performance of its candidates by organising recently a meeting of those who stood second in the last Assembly elections in 2010.
The party also held a meeting with those candidates who got more than 10,000 votes in the 2010 Bihar Assembly elections.
The purpose of these meetings is to instill a sense of confidence among these Congress leaders, “impressing upon them” that they command a good level of popularity in their respective constituencies despite their defeat in the Assembly elections.
The party will also call a meeting of those candidates getting more than 5,000 votes in the last Assembly elections and check whether they were candidates of some potential or non-serious ones.
The party will also identify 10 youth for each booth in the State during the next three months for an effective booth management during the election.
The party functionaries at all levels are leaving no stone unturned to accomplish the task of identifying 10 youth each for all 56,000 polling booths within the stipulated time frame as Rahul Gandhi himself has instructed the State party leadership to perform the exercise.
State Congress president Ashok Choudhary told The Pioneer that the party has made up its mind to revive its fortunes in the State without depending on the RJD or lJP to improve its electoral chances in the State.
To a query whether the Congress will field a candidate for the Maharajganj lok Sabha bypoll seat, scheduled on June 2, the State Congress president said that the party’s High Command will take a decision on the issue in a day or two but the party’s own interest will dominate over all other factors in the matter.
“Before we begin our journey afresh with an objective to regain the lost glory of the party in the State, it is important to understand where the party really stands now,” a senior Congress leader remarked.
It is not only Maharajganj by-election, the party has also started identifying its candidates on all 40 lok Sabha seats, though the State party leadership is not averse to the idea of contesting the lok Sabha election in an alliance with the RJD, lJP or other like-minded parties.
The State Congress will also invite Rahul Gandhi to address its proposed rally at Gandhi Maidan, tentatively to be held in November.
The Congress has not held any State level rally in Patna since the NDA formed the Government in the State in 2005.
In its bid to reach out to a wider range of population, the Congress is also adopting modern methods like sending SMS messages in the State. The party sent 42,000 SMS messages for its Purnea division level meeting while it is sending another 50,000 SMS messages for Begusarai meeting to be held on Saturday.