Congress shifts focus to virtual campaigning, moots options like 'Nukkad Sabha' to woo voters in 5 states

Aiming to reach out to each and every household, Congress will also conduct 'Nukkad Sabha,' where LED vans will be placed at various places like markets, mohallas, crossroads (chaurahas), etc.

New Delhi:In an attempt to tackle the challenge posed by the COVID-19 spike amid elections in five states, the Congress party has decided to switch to the virtual mode for its campaigning. This comes in light of the Election Commission's decision to extend the prohibition on physical rallies and public meetings till January 22.

Congress has decided to suspend all its mega rallies in the poll-bound states and has started preparing for virtual campaigning. According to the sources, this campaigning will be done in three tiers- district, state, and national - to be organized by District Congress Committees (DCCs), Pradesh Congress Committees (PCCs), and All India Congress Committee (AICC).

Virtual campaigning will include press conferences, rallies as well as public meetings in virtual mode. Congress is also planning to conduct some interactive sessions among various segments of society like women, farmers, youth, etc.

Aiming to reach out to each and every household, Congress will also conduct 'Nukkad Sabha,' where LED vans will be placed at various places like markets, mohallas, crossroads (chaurahas), etc. Congress has ordered these LED vans at a mass scale for each of these states set to go for polls in the next month.

Apart from the central leadership, many of the senior leaders including Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled states will also take part in this campaigning. These rallies and press conferences will be majorly focused on the issues which will be mentioned in the party manifesto for the respective states. However, Congress has planned to particularly raise the issues of health, education, unemployment, inflation, women empowerment, farmers crisis, and SC/ST atrocities.

Congress had also organized training programs for party members ahead of these Assembly polls. Speaking to ETV Bharat, a party insider said, "More than 2 lakh members of Uttar Pradesh Congress were trained particularly for Social media handling. We are chalking out a plan on how to use these social media platforms for the campaigning of our party."

These virtual rallies will be made live from social media handles of all senior leaders, workers, and influencers, with an aim to reach a maximum number of people. Congress has also set up Green Rooms at 10 Janpath (Sonia Gandhi's residence), 12 Tuglak Lane (Rahul Gandhi's residence), 15 GRG (Congress' war room), and at PCCs.

Apart from this virtual campaigning, Congress senior leaders will also take part in the 'Door to Door' campaigning. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has already begun his Door to Door campaign in Uttar Pradesh.