Ahead of the assembly elections to be held in five states, the Congress party has started making changes in its election strategy. The party has launched a comprehensive social and political initiative to bring together Dalits, tribals, minorities, OBCs and economically weaker sections of the upper castes on one platform. This initiative will start with a campaign to unite Dalit and minority communities.
According to sources, the Scheduled Caste (SC) and minority wings of the Congress party have jointly prepared a new “social engineering” strategy at the national level. The party believes that given the current political environment, a strong social coalition can be built by focusing on the common issues and challenges faced by these communities.
Congress SC department national president Rajendra Pal Gautam told ABP News that the party is organizing a national conference which will be attended by representatives of Dalit and minority communities as well as the poor, backward classes and economically weaker upper castes. Subsequently, there are plans to organize a larger national conference, which will include Dalits, tribals, minorities, OBCs and poor upper caste communities; It is expected to be attended by top party leaders including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.
**Campaign starts from June 6**
Sources say that the formal launch of this campaign will take place on June 6 with a joint conference in Delhi. Apart from party leaders and workers, the conference will also be attended by social workers, intellectuals, artists and civil society representatives. During the meeting, social, economic and educational issues related to both the communities will be discussed, from which a detailed roadmap will be prepared. The roadmap finalized in the Delhi conference will be presented before the party leadership. Subsequently, similar conferences will be organized in election-bound states like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.
**Expectation of 35-40% vote bank**
In the states where elections are to be held, the combined population of Dalits and minorities has a significant influence, which is about 35 to 40 percent of the total voters. The party hopes that bringing these sections on a common political platform can provide direct electoral benefits. Sources say there are also plans to broaden this social alliance to include extremely backward classes (EBC), the broader OBC community and economically weaker upper caste sections. Congress is excited with the success of the ‘Save Constitution’ campaign.
Congress leaders believe that Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Save Constitution’ campaign during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections received widespread support from the Dalit community, and this was clearly visible in the party’s performance. Now, on the basis of this political message, Congress is preparing to bring the issues of social justice and representation to the forefront. In recent meetings with minority leaders, Rahul Gandhi has also stressed that cases of injustice to any community should be raised clearly and leaders should speak openly on these issues.
