BHUBANESWAR: The state unit of Congress has decided to launch a membership drive to revitalise the party at the grassroots level. The drive, likely to be undertaken this month, aims at activating the party organisation ahead of the urban local bodies elections.
The membership drive will continue till 2022. Announcing this here on Monday, party’s Telangana in-charge Ramchandra Khuntia said new members will have to pay Rs 5 for five years.
He, however, said Odisha Congress will not have provision for Aadhaar linking of new members. “New members will be asked to link their voter identity cards,” he said.
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Congress organisation in Odisha has become dormant after the party’s dismal performance in the 2019 Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. Khuntia said young members will be trained for creation of cadre.
The cadre members will be known as ‘Preraks’ for whom a comprehensive syllabus will be prepared, he said and added that a separate wing will be created for them.
Khuntia said the ‘Preraks’, who will be the think tank, will counter the RSS and Biju Yuva Vahini. Sources in the Congress, however, said the membership drive of the party in Odisha will be launched after the return of president of OPCC Niranjan Patnaik who is on a foreign visit.
He is expected to return to Odisha on September 14. A small committee is likely to be formed for the membership drive.
All office-bearers except the OPCC president and two working presidents, Pradip Majhi and Chiranjib Biswal, have been dismissed and all committees have been dissolved by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) recently.
Nine MLAs of the party, who were elected in the 2019 Assembly polls, will play a key role in the membership drive.