Bengaluru: At the end of his second visit to Bengaluru and having spent some time with the rank and file of the party, AICC general secretary, K.C. Venugopal has come out with a series of dos and don'ts to put the Congress in the state back on track in the run-up to the 2018 Assembly poll.
Reaching out to stalwarts like Jaffer Sharief, whom he made a point of visiting on Thursday as part of a concentrated move to pacify leaders who remained alienated, he warned the state Congress against bringing real estate businessmen into it and promoting them in the organisation over loyal party workers. For another, he has taken strong exception to sitting MLAs announcing their candidature for their respective constituencies for the 2018 Assembly poll, party insiders told Deccan Chronicle.
“He has made it clear that it is upto the party to announce candidates or select them and those who violate this code will have to face the anger of party vice president, Rahul Gandhi,” they said, adding that the trend of importing real estate businessmen into the party at the district level, which is causing a heartburn among local party workers, was discussed during the meetings held by his deputies, prior to the four-day long marathon meeting, which concluded on Thursday.
Mr. Venugopal has also reportedly taken serious note of MLAs skipping crucial debates during legislature sessions and ministers not visiting their constituencies. “We cannot build the party if the ministers do not interact with party workers and sort out their problems,” he was quoted as saying.
