Mangaluru : Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) will revamp its district committees within one-and-half months to strengthen the party in the State, G.C. Chandrashekar, a working president of the KPCC and also Rajya Sabha Member said in Mangaluru on Saturday, September 14.

Addressing presspersons, he said that the block and District Committee presidents would be changed wherever required.

Mr. Chandrashekar said that the party wants to recoup its glory in the coastal belt of Karnataka by facing the BJP which has gained ground in the belt over the years. The party has decided to have a new strategy by framing plan of action to rebuild the grand old party in the belt.

He said that though the BJP has been winning the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts over the years, it has not been able to bring any worthwhile projects to the districts. “It is the debacle of the BJP,” he said.

The demand for creating Mangaluru Railway Division has not been met. The national highways leading to Mangaluru are in pathetic condition, he said.

Mr. Chandrashekar said that politicians need to have a vision for the development of a region and not squabbling over petty religious issues. The elected representatives and politicians should work in the interest of people.

He said that five working presidents of KPCC arrived in Mangaluru to prepare for the upcoming by-election to the Legislative Council from the Local Bodies’ Constituency of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts. The elections will be held for the seat vacated by Kota Srinivas Poojary after he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Udupi-Chikkamagaluru constituency.

A. Vasanth Kumar, MLC and KPCC working president, alleged that the BJP came to power in the coastal belt through divisive politics. Now the Congress is in the process of further building the party in the region to counter the growth of BJP.

Manjunath Bhandary, MLC and a working president of KPCC, said that politicians should fight over developmental issues and not over religious matters. There is a need to erase the stigma of communally sensitive district attached to Dakshina Kannada and Udupi.