NEW DELHI: Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s Project Shakti, an IT-based platform for booth-level teams across the country before the 2019 general elections, will face an acid test in the Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. All the three states are Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled and are crucial to the Congress’ revival plans ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Project Shakti started in March after a realisation that the Congress had become a top-heavy organisation and lacked muscle on the ground, which is represented by committed teams of workers at the polling booth level.
The absence of booth-teams was identified as a factor for the party ending with just 44 Lok Sabha seats in 2014. Now, sources claim the party enrolled over 5.5 lakh booth workers in Rajasthan, around 2.75 lakh in Madhya Pradesh and over 1.25 lakh in Chhattisgarh.“The new system will benefit us 100 per cent,” a senior AICC functionary said. Making a comparison with the 2013 Assembly polls, he said the entire burden on having a booth-level network was on the poll candidates. Now, there is an organisational support system in place, irrespective of who gets the ticket.
“The best part is these workers are loyal to the party and not to an individual. So, it is easier to roll out local door-to-door campaigns as a central system facilitates quick communication with the booth workers,” a party leader said. Pointing to the importance of having booth-level teams, a Congress strategist pointed out that in 2013, the party won just 21 of the 200 seats despite being in power in Rajasthan. “This showed we had failed to address organisational issues. We are better prepared this time.”
To pep-up the booth-workers, Rahul has personally interacted with some of them over the phone, urging them to stay united and committed to the Congress ways of working. “This is his way of showing that a new Congress is being created. We suffered due to party infighting and organisational weakness in the past,” said a senior MP leader, who has worked in Chhattisgarh.
Besides mobilising voters on polling day, these workers were told to comment on potential ticket seekers when party strategists want a second opinion. Though a section of the party believes such feedback may not throw up the best candidates as many locals will have some allegiance to leaders, those involved with the new system claim it will address the organisational gaps in the long run and help them bring in corrections that could potentially act as a game-changer.