AICC general secretary and in-charge of U.P., Avinash Pande. File
The Congress plans to appoint nearly two million ground-level office-bearers and engage with different caste groups as it seeks to revamp the party unit in Uttar Pradesh (UP), the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary and in-charge of U.P., Avinash Pande, said in an interview to The Hindu.
Under the aegis of the Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan (SSA), the party is set to appoint nearly two million office-bearers across U.P. by December-end as part of an organisational overhaul aimed at reviving the party’s fortunes in the State, Mr. Pande said.
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The five-tier appointment drive will cover State, district, block, mandal and booth-level office-bearers, with plans to assign Booth Level Agents (BLAs) in 1.62 lakh booths. Mr. Pande said the party sees this as the foundation of its strategy to be battle ready for the 2027 Assembly elections while also identifying new grassroots leaders to create a counter-narrative against the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP.
“We are keen to bring in as many leaders as possible into our fold. By the end of this year, we hope to appoint 19.78 lakh office-bearers on the ground,” Mr. Pande said.
Alongside the appointments, the Congress has chalked out an action plan that includes contesting the MLC elections in 11 graduate and teachers constituencies, fielding candidates in large numbers in local body polls, and holding theme-based community meetings in October-November. The meetings will also engage specific caste groups such as Jats, Gurjars, Passi, Nishad, Lodhi, as well as forward castes, minorities, and professionals such as lawyers. The first such outreach, a Kisan Sammelan, is likely on October 14 in Muzaffarnagar, a western U.P. hub where Jats hold influence.
Beginning with State-level meetings, these interactions will later be taken down to the district level. Party leaders argue that local body elections — covering 57,961 panchayats, 826 blocks and around 3,500 district panchayat seats — will serve as a semi-final ahead of 2027 Aseembly polls.
“We have started the preparations, and training programmes are on. While the leadership will decide on issues like alliance with the Samajawadi Party, we should be in a position to be able to fight in all 403 seats,” the Congress U.P. in-charge said.
Traditionally, the Congress had ceded space in local polls and MLC elections to rivals, including allies. Now, leaders say the party wants to use these contests to recruit local leaders and strengthen its base.
To further sharpen outreach, the party is also mapping localities with weekly markets and melas for programmes, and contacting families of freedom fighters to build connections. “This was a missing link. There were not many grassroots leaders in the party. We get local leaders through local body polls,” Mr. Pande explained.
Once dominant in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress lost ground in the 1990s with the rise of mandal [reservation and social justice] and kamandal [politics of religious identity] narratives. But now, the party hopes to build on Rahul Gandhi’s push for social justice and anti-communal politics, along with its ambitious organisational expansion at the grassroots.
Published – October 02, 2025 10:03 pm IST
