Buoyed by the impressive performance of Andhra Pradesh in the just-concluded 32nd National Games, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has set the target of 250 seats out of 294 for the Telugu Desam party in the next assembly elections in the state.
Addressing an extended state executive meeting of the TDP in Hyderabad on Thursday, he said with more than 15 percent of the electorate becoming members, it should not be difficult for the party to sweep the assembly polls in 2004.
Naidu expressed happiness that the party's overall membership has gone up to 7.6 million, 15.47 percent of the total electorate of 50 million in the state, after the recent membership drive.
The members include both ordinary and active members. Four active members are in charge of every 100 voters and the party has drawn up a 'scientific plan' to garner votes for the next polls.
Naidu said the total strength of the active members has gone up from 2.35 percent of the total electorate in the state to 3.89 percent and the total strength of the ordinary members has increased from 9.1 percent to 11.58 percent of the electorate after the recent membership drive.
Apart from 1.95 million active members, the party has 5.65 million ordinary members in the state.
"We have to use this well-oiled and fighting-fit organisational machinery in all the nooks and corners of the state to aggressively spread the message of the good work done by our government," Naidu said.
He said that each of the 1.95
"The government implements the same programme everywhere in the state, but the ruling party gets 50,000 majority in one constituency and loses badly in another constituency. It is not because of the failure of the administration, but because of the failure of the local leadership," he observed.
"It will be responsibility of these members [active] to maintain close and friendly relations with the voters in their areas", he said.
"For this purpose, we will network the TDP offices in all the 23 districts with the state headquarters in Hyderabad. They will be provided with the cell phones, computers with Internet facility, photo-copying machines and all other facilities to ensure faster two-way flow of information," Naidu said, adding that the use of mobile phones was proving highly beneficial with the party headquarters getting daily updates from all the assembly constituencies in the state.
He also unveiled a packed schedule for the party for the next five months starting with the elections to the booth, village and ward committees in the first week of February, followed by mandal and municipal level elections on April 16 and district committee elections on April 21.
The party will hold a district-level party conference on April 26 and 27 and the State Mahanadu [annual convention] from May 27 to May 29 in Tirupati.