LS, Maha polls: Cong to launch mass contact programme in Sep

The Congress in Maharashtra will launch a statewide mass contact programme from September to gear up for the Lok Sabha and the Assembly polls due next year.

It will be a division-wise exercise where state Congress chief Ashok Chavan will visit all the 288 Assembly constituencies and interact with party workers and people, a party source said.

"Congress president Rahul Gandhi is also expected to participate in the programme," he said.

Apart from Chavan, senior party leaders from the state and outside will also pitch in, the source said.

Over the past few months, the party has held several internal meetings to take stock of its organisational strengths and weaknesses.

It also held preliminary talks with the NCP to explore the possibilities of a pre-poll alliance for the next year's Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly polls.

The party had also said that it was keen on forging a grand alliance of all 'like-minded' parties to take on the ruling BJP and the Shiv Sena.