Congress plans grassroots reboot in T.N., new district chiefs head to Delhi for orientation

The newly elected 77 district presidents from Tamil Nadu left for Delhi for a special orientation programme on Tuesday, ahead of the Assembly elections.

The party, leaders said, had launched a “sweeping organisational overhaul” and an “aggressive grassroots mobilisation drive” aimed at reviving its booth-level machinery.

Earlier, a top-level reshuffle under Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan (SSA) — an internal organisational revamp was carried out between October and December — with an expanded booth-level outreach plan which envisaged up to 14 workers per booth and two volunteers for every street to engage voters, explain policy positions and counter BJP’s narrative. Party leaders believe the exercise will help rejuvenate the Congress by rebuilding its connect with voters from the ground up.

Under the SSA, the Congress undertook a State-wide restructuring of its district units, identifying active grassroots leaders, and elevating them to organisational roles. Of the 77 district presidents appointed last month, only six were retained from the previous set-up, while a majority of the new appointees are aged below 50 and come from grassroots backgrounds, sources said. The newly appointed presidents have been tasked with overseeing booth-level operations across their districts and are attending a one-day orientation programme in Delhi along with leaders from other States.

L. Rex, councillor and Congress district president for Tiruchi (Urban), one of the six leaders retained, said the organisational reforms had energised cadres working at the grassroots. “The changes at the top have given confidence to workers at the booth level. After the elections, a 10-day special camp is planned for district presidents,” he said.

However, some leaders flagged concerns over the timing of the initiative. A Congress MLA from the central region said the overhaul had come too close to the elections, leaving limited time for new district presidents to familiarise themselves with local dynamics and booth-level functionaries. A senior Congress leader from Aranthangi in Pudukkottai district said that while the restructuring was a welcome move, entrenched networks built by former district presidents would be difficult to dismantle in a short span.

At the booth level, the party plans to deploy one Booth Level Agent-2 (BLA-2) for voter list verification, apart from nine to 14 booth-level workers depending on local capacity, with two workers assigned per street. Each booth will have a designated digital agent to track voter status, including assisting families in obtaining death certificates where required, a district president from the delta region said.

A leader said the outreach was under way in areas where Congress MLAs, councillors, and local body representatives had influence, with the entire operation being monitored by the party’s IT wing from its headquarters in Delhi and Chennai. Booth-level workers are tasked with disseminating the party’s positions and highlighting what leaders describe as “anti-people policies” of the Narendra Modi Ministry.

Party functionaries said the objective was to establish a direct and sustained communication channel with voters that would remain in place even beyond the elections.