By Express News Service
LUCKNOW: The Congress party is gearing up to firm up its poll manifesto for 2022 UP Assembly elections. The Grand Old Party is also set to begin the second phase of its programme to train 30,000 party workers across 100 camps to keep them poll ready under ‘Prashikshan se Parakram’ campaign.
Farm loan waiver, coaching centres for competitive exams, allowance for young and elderly and free electricity are the issues likely to find a place in the Congress poll manifesto for the Uttar Pradesh elections which will be fought under the leadership of AICC general secretary and party’s UP in-charge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
As per the sources, Party Election Committee (PEC), headed by former union minister and senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid, is visiting various districts of Uttar Pradesh to get people’s feedback on the basis of which the party’s manifesto for the 2022 polls will be finalised. Moreover, the party has been running a public campaign on social media and other digital platforms to reach out to common man to gather inputs for their manifesto.
The party manifesto is likely to highlight the development issue of the state, loans on farmers and a possible loan waiver, employment, atrocities on women and how to make them self-reliant. Discussions are on to provide free electricity till 300 units and slashing the rates by 50% for next 200 units, said the party source.
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Moreover, setting up coaching centres at rural level for competitive exams, some allowance is also being worked out for elderly people above 60 in order to secure their future. An allowance for youth may also be a feature of the manifesto.
The sources claimed that the party may come out with its manifesto in December keeping its focus intact on real issues.
The other members of the PEC are Rajya Sabha MP PL Punia, Supriya Shrinate, Vivek Bansal, Amitabh Dubey along with Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee President Ajay Kumar Lallu and MLA leader Aradhana Mishra Mona.
On the other, the party is set to launch the second phase of its training programme for the 30,000 workers across 100 camps. The programme under which the training is being conducted is titled ‘Prashikshan Se Parakram Mahaabhiyan.’ It will continue till September 30. Under the programme, the Congress has formed a special training task force to train its workers.
As per the party sources, the training would focus on five different subjects with a special emphasis on booth management. The workers will also be trained to make the best use of social media sites like Facebook, Twitter.
During the first phase of the ‘Prashikshan Se Parakram Mahabhiyan’, the party had trained around 25,000 Congress workers during the 11 days of the campaign.
Earlier the training was conducted through district-wise programmes to train block presidents, ward presidents and nyay panchayat presidents. This time, it will be carried out assembly-wise. Under the overall campaign, Congress aims to train two lakh office bearers and workers through 700 training camps. Two more phases will be launched for the same after this.
