Silver-haired Sam Pitroda, who gave up a cushy job when Rajiv Gandhi called him back to India to usher in a telecom revolution, is now helping Sonia Gandhi repackage the Congress. And a few days ago, Sam unfolded his blueprint before some party bigwigs. With an eye on the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, Sonia Gandhi had recently summoned all block presidents to the capital, virtually reaching out to the grassroots. Her big challenge next year is clearly preying on her mind. The Pitroda Plan — still a confidential document — adopts the typical management approach with the objective of ‘‘modernising’’ the party and breathing new life into the organisation. But there is little political content and the Congress is not a corporate entity. The plan makes no mention of the political choices the party has to make and the dilemmas it’s confronted with. How, for instance, does it intend to respond to the forces of Hindutva? What is going to be its ‘‘new message’’ that would, in Pitroda’s scheme of things, lead to ‘‘mass membership’’? And what does the party propose to do on the issue of alliances with regional parties? That is for the leaders of the party to figure out, say sources. Sonia has set up two committees, comprising around 10 leaders, to make Pitroda’s vision a reality. Two meetings have already been held to discuss what is being called ‘‘Congress Party — Rejuvenation Plan, March 2003’’. Among those who have found a place on these committees are Manmohan Singh, Ambika Soni, Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Salman Khurshid, Jayanti Natarajan, Mukul Wasnik and Jyotiraditya Scindia. Pitroda, who is based in the US, is believed to have suggested that 631 ‘‘modern’’ offices be set up for the party — one for the AICC, 30 for the PCCs and 600 for the DCCs. Each party office must be ‘‘standardised’’, he has proposed, in terms of space, display signs, staff, regulations, fixtures, furniture, stationery and rules and procedures. It must be manned by 50-100 people and have conference rooms, an IT network, audio conferencing, training facilities, phone, fax, printer and library besides a proper decor and cleaning tools. He has called for setting up of separate websites for the AICC and each PCC and DCC with links to each other. These sites should be in English, Hindi and the local language and should put out information on all aspects related to the organisation, its membership, local issues of development it’s espousing, party activities, training facilities, special events and people. The IT infrastructure, Pitroda says, should be designed in such a manner that information from any part of the country, including biodata and photographs of party workers, can be accessed by leaders. Pitroda has identified target groups for the party, suggesting that membership drives should focus on women, youth, senior citizens, minorities, farmers, social workers, students, teachers, business leaders and professionals. And the party should organise fairs, local feasts, award ceremonies, visits of dignitiaries and ‘meet your leader’ programmes for the recruitment drive. Pitroda has laid special emphasis on managing the media. Use the media not just to convey the party’s message, he says, but also to monitor social, political, cultural and economic trends. Party websites should be updated daily, the media office must review all major publications and broadcasts and correct ‘‘distortions’’. And media managers at the PCC and DCC levels should be ‘‘top-level party functionaries who can answer critical questions without having to consult the leadership frequently.’’ He has proposed an ‘‘audit’’ at every level to build up accountability — a special team should be constituted to evaluate each PCC and DCC; ‘‘data-driven’’ analysts should function as independent watchdogs uninfluenced by local pulls and pressures; there should be a constant assessment of the opposition’s performance; and benchmarks should be created for the party. Now the party has to figure out how to go about doing this with political insight.
