NEW DELHI: Battered by a string of electoral losses, the Congress plans to set up a central election management department to revive the party’s wilting political fortunes. This initiative is one of the key goals outlined in the Udaipur Declaration, adopted by the Congress Working Committee (CWC) during a three-day Nav Sankalp Shivir in May 2022. The new election management cell aims to implement much-needed reforms in the party’s electoral strategies.
According to party sources, the election management department will be responsible for preparing the party well in advance for every election, ensuring effective management and achieving the desired outcomes. Although the party is yet to announce the head of the department, discussions around potential young leaders for the role are ongoing.
Sources said the party has taken a serious view on setting up an election management department, in the recent meeting of the party brass with newly appointed general secretaries and states in charge. The meeting was chaired by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and attended by Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.
While many of the Udaipur resolutions have been on the back burner for three years, the party’s disappointing performances in the Haryana and Maharashtra assembly elections have spurred the leadership to focus on improving election management and advancing the proposal sooner than expected, said a source.
Stressing on the importance of long-term planning for elections, a leader said, “There’s an old saying, ‘In times of peace, prepare for war’. The Congress should be following that. Last-minute election management would not help the party fight against a fiercely combative and resource-rich BJP. I won’t say war rooms and surveys are not effective. The party will have to start planning strategies the day after it loses an election.”
Sources added that the party’s renewed focus on strengthening District Congress Committees will help co-ordinate and consolidate its efforts on election management.
According to AICC leader Jairam Ramesh, the emphasis of the strategy meeting was more on strengthening the party at the district level. “There was a detailed discussion about strengthening around 800 district Congress committees across the country,” he said.
Top brass meeting
The party has taken a serious view on setting up a poll management department, in the recent meeting of the party brass with newly appointed general secretaries and states in charge. The meeting was chaired by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and attended by LoP Rahul Gandhi.
