New Delhi: After facing electoral setbacks at various levels since last year, the Samajwadi Party (SP) is trying to evolve into what it calls a “hybrid, mass-based party” with a new, dedicated organisational structure. The party has also decided to hold training camps for its workers in various Lok Sabha constituencies across the state on its ideology and equip them with arguments to counter the BJP.
The party has tasked senior leaders with reconstituting booth committees in their Lok Sabha constituencies by inducting new workers to replace those who are inactive and the workers who have left to join other parties to fulfill this very objective. The in-charges have been directed to create a new organisational structure of zonal units, with an in-charge for each zone. There will be at least six zones in each Assembly segment, with each zone divided into six sectors. Each sector unit will oversee 10-12 booth units. During fieldwork, these Lok Sabha in-charges will also have to interact with the workers and the public in villages and urban areas. The in-charges have to complete their task by June 5 so that the training camps can be started.
The camps will be organised in groups of youth workers and local leaders from two constituencies each. “Akhilesh Yadav and other senior leaders will educate the workers on party ideology, failure of the BJP Government in governance, and so on,” said a party leader.
On the decision to develop the new organisational structure, Lok Sabha in-charge Sudhir Panwar said, “SP is a mass-based party. But in the prevailing political scenario, it needs a structure to communicate its ideology and opinion on political matters, and raise awareness among the workers about the challenges. Hence, constituency in-charges have been appointed to build booth committees and form the zonal structures.”
Another party leader said the SP is a mass-based party that doesn’t make any distinction between voters and has remained inclusive irrespective of religion, caste, gender or economic status. “Under the changed political landscape of UP, there is a need for a more cohesive organisational structure, and the SP is working on it,” he said.
Among the Lok Sabha constituencies where such in-charges have been appointed are Amethi and Rae Bareli, where the SP gave a “walkover” to the Congress in previous Lok Sabha elections. MLA Indrajeet Saroj is in charge of Rae Bareli as well as Kaushambi and Pratapgarh. In Amethi, the party has deployed former MLCs Sunil Sajan and Anand Bhadauria, and Former MLA Arun Verma.