Xpress News24
Lucknow: With the Assembly elections approaching, the Congress has stepped up its outreach among Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in Uttar Pradesh, looking to strengthen its presence among a voter segment that has become central to the state’s political calculations.
As part of the strategy, the party is preparing to establish special war rooms for every 10 districts. The proposed centres will focus specifically on issues concerning backward-class voters and coordinate the party’s campaign around themes such as social justice, reservation and the slogan “Jitni Aabadi, Utna Adhikar”.
The move comes as political parties in Uttar Pradesh have already started working on their social equations ahead of the elections. The OBC population is estimated to account for around 45% of the state’s voters, making the community a crucial constituency for parties including the BJP, Samajwadi Party and BSP.
Congress, which has been trying to rebuild its organisation and electoral base in Uttar Pradesh, is now looking to make OBC outreach a more prominent part of its political campaign.
The party’s backward-class department has been working on a wider programme to connect voters with its stated ideological and social-justice agenda. As part of this effort, the Congress plans to organise conferences focused on social justice in every division of the state.
These divisional-level programmes are expected to be followed by similar conferences at the district level. The party’s plan is to complete the conference campaign over a period of around three months before taking the issues raised during the outreach programmes to the streets through a larger political campaign.
The strategy is also being backed by increased organisational activity. According to the information available, Dr Anil Jaihind, national chairman of the Congress’ Backward Classes Department, has visited Lucknow three times in the past month.
His repeated visits are being seen as part of the party’s effort to strengthen its organisational network and formulate a focused strategy for reaching OBC voters in Uttar Pradesh.
What will the Congress war rooms do?
According to the party’s Backward Classes Department, the proposed war rooms will be operated by the department itself. Each war room, covering a cluster of around 10 districts, will focus exclusively on campaign-related work concerning backward-class issues.
The centres are expected to coordinate information, communication and outreach related to OBC voters, although the precise organisational structure and operational details of the proposed war rooms have not been publicly outlined in the information provided.
The Congress’ focus on social justice and reservation also comes against the backdrop of a wider political contest over representation among backward communities in Uttar Pradesh.
For the party, the challenge will be to convert its messaging into a sustained organisational presence at the district and grassroots levels. The proposed conferences and war rooms are therefore being positioned as more than just an election campaign exercise, with the party seeking to maintain contact with backward-class communities over a longer period.
The BJP, SP and BSP have traditionally paid close attention to caste and social representation while building their electoral strategies in Uttar Pradesh. With the next Assembly election in view, competition for OBC support is likely to become sharper in the months ahead.
Whether the Congress’ latest outreach can translate into a significant shift among OBC voters will depend on how effectively the party implements its programme on the ground and builds a sustained network beyond the proposed conferences.
For now, the party is preparing to take its social justice and representation narrative deeper into Uttar Pradesh’s districts, with OBC voters emerging as a key focus of its pre-election strategy.
