Congress expands base in Jharkhand's Maoist-hit areas

The Congress has started preparations for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections by strengthening its base in Maoist-hit areas in Jharkhand, party officials said.

A two-day meet of party workers from North Chota Nagpur region began in Hazaribagh district Thursday.

The meet will see presentations by party workers from seven Maoist-hit districts.

Similar meets have earlier been organised in West Singhbhum and Gumla districts.

"In Jharkhand, nearly 20 of the 24 districts are affected by Maoists. We are organising party workers' meets in such areas to initiate political activities," Jharkhand Congress president Sukhdeo Bhagat told IANS.

"Political activity is a must to fight Maoist guerrillas. We will also apprise people about the welfare schemes of the central government. Awareness about central schemes is necessary in rural areas, particularly those affected by Maoist trouble," he said.

"We want to stay in direct contact with people in Maoist-hit areas so that they do not feel alienated," he said.

Besides organising party workers' meets, the Congress has also started recruiting people from Maoist-hit areas.

On Wednesday, Vinod Sinha, a leader of the All Jharkhand Students' Union from Maoist-hit Giridih district joined the party.

"Our party is working on several fronts. Associating people particularly from Maoist-hit areas is also part of the party's move to strengthen the base in the state," Jharkhand Congress spokesperson Shailesh Sinha told IANS.

Congress has already cemented alliance with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha for next year's Lok Sabha polls. Congress will fight 10 of the 14 seats in the state.

The legislative assembly elections are scheduled for November 2014.