Rahul Gandhi interacting with Congress Sewa Dal workers in lucknow (TOI)

LUCKNOW: Indian National Congress frontal organisation, the Congress Sewa Dal, has decided to take on Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh in an organised way. The oldest organisation of the congress, Sewa Dal would now shun its 'managerial' role to speak for the party in public and associate with voters in states going in for assembly elections.

It will also prepare ground for the party in India especially UP for the 2019 Lok Sabha . Over 50,000 volunteers associated with Sewa Dal in UP would be trained to take on RSS workers and propagate Congress ideology in the masses through activities like Jan Adalat, Dhwaj Vandan and so on to counter BJP in small groups such as slums, villages and towns. President, UP Congress Sewa Dal, Pramod Pandey said that the Sewa Dal would also identify 25 parliamentary seats across India and campaign for the party.

Founded at the inspiration of Mahatama Gandhi, CSD started as Hindustani Sewa Dal in 1923 which was headed by Jawahar Lal Nehru as first chairman. The body was merged in the congress party in 1931 during the Karachi session of Congress. The body saw its best time under the leadership of Rajiv Gandhi in the 1980s but many big shots in the party including Sonia Gandhi had been associated with the CSD.

Like his father, Rahul Gandhi also feels was the link between public and the party. Thus, while addressing at CSD workshop held in June, Rahul Gandhi commissioned several structural changes in the organisation which included replacing old nomenclature with more perceivable designations, dividing India into six zones on the basis of parliamentary seats, assigning a training module with courses on leadership development, nation building and national integration, appointing a spokesperson and assigning public engagement activities among other things.

Sources said that the new module of overhaul has been developed by Sam Pitroda , K Raju and newly appointed national chief of Sewa Dal Lalji Desai. The experts have given special emphasis to training which had taken a back seat over the past decade. Besides, the Sewa Dal has been given a free hand which will allow them to increase public interaction.

