Congress draws up Uttar Pradesh revival plan

Lucknow: In another attempt to revive itself in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress has drawn up a series of programmes for the coming months.

The Congress, according to sources, now wants to mobilise its organisational base and connect itself to the problems on the common man in the state. With the grand alliance cracking up in Bihar, the Congress is preparing to go it alone in the next Lok Sabha elections in 2019.

The Congress in Uttar Pradesh will be launching a protest campaign against the Centre and state government from August 9, the August Kranti Diwas.

Mr Swayam Prakash Goswami, head of the party’s Jan Andolan Committee, said that several issues would be taken up during the protest, including the GST and the poor law and order situation.

“People are feeling the pinch of unpopular decisions of Modi government like demonetisation and GST. Inflation has gone up and the economy has taken a severe blow. We will raise the people’s voice with protests at all district headquarters on August 9”, he said.

He said during the protest, Congress workers would also raise the issue of “political corruption” unleashed by BJP in Bihar and Gujarat and now in Uttar Pradesh too. After the protest on August 9, the Congress leaders will embark on their “Chalo Gaon Ki Ore” programme from August 30 to September 30.

Mr Goswami said that the workers will hold “chaupals” in the villages and note down all the problems of the people so that a comprehensive strategy could be chalked out by the Congress in this regard. On October 15, the Congress will raise the problems of people living in rural areas with another demonstration at district headquarters.

The party will wrap up its series of protest on December 28, which happens to be the foundation day of the Congress, by launching the ‘Chalo Modi, Gaddi Chhodo’ campaign that will continue till the Lok Sabha elections.

It is noteworthy that the Congress, after its humiliating defeat in the assembly elections earlier this year, has been making quiet efforts to revive itself. UPCC president Raj Babbar has been visiting villages and interacting with farmers under the party’s ‘Haq Mango’ programme.

Four days ago, he staged a impromptu dharna in Ambedkar Nagar to support the farmers’ demand for compensation and slept on the road through the night. The next day the district administration gave an assurance after which the dharna was lifted.

“We can reach the urban voters through the media and the social media but the rural population needs a face-to-face interaction. We want to assure them that we are with them in their time of crisis”, Mr Babbar told this correspondent on phone.