Mumbai: Senior Congress leader Anant Gadgil on Tuesday said he has planned a special campaign in Pune, aimed at lifting the morale of party cadres against the backdrop of two successive defeats in Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.
"I have named the campaign as 'Congress Balkatikaran Abhiyan' (strengthening programme) for cadres of Pune, which will commence from next month," Gadgil told reporters.
Congress could win only 2 out of total 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra while its tally in Assembly elections held in October whittled down to just 42 in 288-member House.
Gadgil, an MLC and an AICC media panel member, plans to meet a small group of party cadres in each ward in Pune city every week.
"I will give them 25 to 30 talking points against BJP, the Centre and the BJP-ruled states on their U-turns on various issues, their double speak on transparency in governance, ordinance among others. These workers will then take forward the debate among the people," he said.
Gadgil said he had written to the party members in Pune about how BJP wrested the city from Congress, which has been its stronghold for long.
"We have lost Pune Lok Sabha seat along with all the eight Assembly constituencies, to BJP. Three of Congress' ex-ministers lost their deposits in polls," he said.
Gadgil said Congress must come out of the electoral defeats and go to people with vigour. "The party can be strengthened only by taking along the grassroot cadres," he added.
He said he has discussed his plan with the state unit president Manikrao Thakre who has told him that the campaign should be launched in the entire state.
"(However) extending the campaign state wide should be done by the state leadership. I am focussing only on Pune as of now," Gadgil said.
