In their preparation ahead of the gram panchayat polls, Congress leaders have emphasised the need for cohesion and unity, leaving aside personal ambition for power.
The Congress will return to power if party leaders work with unity and cohesion, with the party’s interests in mind, All-India Congress Committee general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, who is in charge of Karnataka, said on Sunday at a consultative meeting ahead of the GP polls.
“We will have to ensure that the personal interests of individual leaders is subservient to the larger interests of the Congress,” he said, addressing senior party leaders. The next three months, he pointed out, were crucial as the GP polls would be followed by elections to taluk panchayats and zilla panchayats, and that to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike. These are crucial to empower the party at the grassroots, he said.
Mr. Surjewala said these elections would also throw up young leaders, who would eventually take over the party in different areas. He said there was a need to give space to the young by allowing them to rub shoulders with senior leaders. “Leaders should shoulder responsibility and divide duties to fight elections. Legislators should put in sufficient effort to identify candidates committed to the Congress’ ideology. Treat this [GP polls] as the most important elections in the area though it is not fought on party symbols,” he said.
He added that the B.S. Yediyurappa-led government did not have the mandate of people and had come to power with illegitimate money, he said. “The Delhi BJP leadership is also fed up with the current situation in the State. There are going to be rumblings very soon within this government. Once we win the zilla panchayat and taluk panchayat elections, the BJP government will crumble like a house of cards,” he said.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president D.K. Shivakumar also said that every leader has to work for the victory of the party candidate and take up booth-level responsibility. “The focus should be to remain united and not to give statements and counter-statements in the media that could affect the party.”
