RJD launches ‘one booth-eight youth’ programme ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls

According to the officials, the party is also making plans for district tours to be conducted by deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and senior party leaders from May onwards as a pre-poll exercise to interact with voters in the run-up to the next year’s Lok Sabha polls

To strengthen its booth-level organisation and mobilise its workers ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has initiated a ‘one booth, eight youth’ programme, a party official said.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar (left) and his deputy Tejashwi Prasad Yadav (right) (File Photo)

The party has issued directions to all state and district-level functionaries to review the booth level set-up every month, as per party officials.

According to the officials, the party is also making plans for district tours to be conducted by deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and senior party leaders from May onwards as a pre-poll exercise to interact with voters in the run-up to the next year’s Lok Sabha polls.

“The party has already kicked off the ‘one booth, eight youth’ programme to ensure that there are at least party workers especially young ones responsible for each booth. They would be responsible to interact with voters, convince them and also oversee arrangements of the party ahead of the polls,” said Shyam Rajak, RJD national general secretary.

According to the general secretary, the party’s district and state leaders have been directed to visit each district every month and conduct review meetings to assess the progress and take corrective measures, where there are any lapses. “We aim to cover all 77,000 polling stations so that we have a strong network of party volunteers before the polls,” he said.

“We will chalk out the tour programme of Tejashwi and other leaders in the next few weeks after our rally in Purnea is over. The deputy CM would be visiting each district to interact with workers and people,” said Rajak.

Meanwhile, preparations are afoot for the GA’s “Ekjutha rally” in Purnea to be held on February 25, a show of strength by the grand alliance, including RJD, JD(U), Congress and other constituents of the ruling coalition. Chief minister Nitish Kumar, his deputy Tejashwi, senior Congress and left party leaders would be addressing the event.

The next year’s Lok Sabha polls likely in April-May would be a crucial election for the RJD. The GA led by Nitish Kumar is keen on forming a national-level opposition front to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the next polls. In the last parliamentary polls in 2019, RJD had not won a single seat.