BENGALURU: The one-day convention of block and district Congress committee (DCC) presidents convened here on Tuesday by the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee resolved to intensify the membership drive in the state.
According to party sources, the district leaders, who were allowed to speak openly about the problems they were facing in enrolling new members, reportedly blamed non-cooperation from district in-charge ministers and local MLAs for the poor show in membership drive.
As many as 35 DCC presidents and more than 400 block presidents participated in the meeting chaired by KPCC president G Parameshwara. He also reviewed the performance of the membership drive taken up across the state.
Addressing the gathering, Parameshwara exhorted them to step up the drive as directed by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi. He advised party functionaries to give more importance to quality than quantity while enrolling members.
Parameshwara said those who enroll a large number of members would also be considered for nomination to contest the coming panchayat elections.
The meeting with the grassroots-level functionaries assumes importance as it was convened in the backdrop of AICC president Sonia Gandhi’s call to take into account the opinion of lower rungs while revamping the party organisation.The meeting also discussed strategies to strengthen the party’s rank and file in the state.