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Journalism of Courage
IN A bid to woo young voters, especially the first timers, the Congress has now put in place a four-pronged strategy in Maharashtra.
State youth Congress president Satyajeet Tambe told The Indian Express that to prep up the party’s election campaign across the state, a brand new outreach campaign has been launched.
“We are calling it the ‘555’ campaign. We are urging youngsters to spend five minutes on social media everyday and share positive things regarding the party and candidates. If they can spare some more time, we are urging such volunteers to talk to five persons everyday to vote for Congress candidates. If they are more willing, we are urging them to get five persons along with them to vote on election day,” said Tambe.
Tambe added that the party has already enrolled 50,000 volunteers under the campaign.
Last September, in the run-up to the state polls in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress youth wing had launched the ‘Yuva Shakti Card’ scheme for unemployed youngsters, who were promised employment if the party came to power and an employment allowance till their jobs were secured.
Maharashtra’s youth unit has generated a database of 5 lakh employed youth through the scheme, said Tambe. “We have a dedicated call centre for them.”
Additionally, to rival the BJP’s ‘My First Vote to Modi’ campaign in college campuses, the youth Congress has launched the ‘My First Vote to the Nation’, where it has been promoting the Congress’ agenda for the youth. “We have so far held events in 250 villages across the state,” Tambe said.
As part of the party’s national campaign, the state Congress is also implementing the ‘Chalo Ghar Ghar Abhiyaan’, where the youth wing workers are campaigning door to door in both rural and urban belts. “In the 2014 polls, the youth had voted for Modi. But the BJP has failed to deliver on its promises. They now know that the ‘acche din’ promise was just a jumla. They are dejected. They need support. We are telling them that we are here for them,” Tambe said.
The candidates themselves are independently wooing young voters too. Sanjay Nirupam, party candidate from Mumbai North West, has organised a youth conference in his constituency on Sunday, where he has invited actor Urmila Matondkar and Patel reservation stir spearhead Hardik Patel to “guide” young voters.
“We have designed a separate manifesto for the youth in my constituency. We will unveil it on that day,” said Nirupam.
