Congress preparing demographic profiles of each of the 403 Assembly constituencies in UP

NEW DELHI: Manifestoes tailor-made for specific constituencies would be Congress’ trump card in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections next year. For this purpose, the Grand old Party is preparing demographic profiles of each of the 403 Assembly constituencies.

The exercise includes identifying local electoral issues, tracing political history and specific caste dynamics of all the constituencies. “We are in the process of framing these manifestos. We would also have a ready document on talking points and campaign strategy for the candidates looking at the Assembly constituency,” a senior Congress leader told ET.

This is the first time that Congress would have Assemblyspecific manifestoes. Once the tickets are finalized by the party, the candidate will have leeway to make changes. “The document will be a product of a meticulous study but the candidate would be able to make changes and then release it,” said the leader.

Besides this, a cadre building exercise has also begun down to the village level. The Congress has already identifed 1 lakh foot soldiers across UP villages to take the campaign to every booth.

The party is preparing this list with photo identities and phone numbers of these vetted workers. Block presidents have been asked to identify at least 10 dedicated Congress workers in each village.

As a counter to the BJP's massive Dalit reachout, the party has started an effort to identify five Dalit leaders per constituency. These leaders would in turn identify Dalit homes to help the chosen candidates to reaching across to them.