CORRESPONDENT
SHILLONG: With the Congress positioning itself for a full-fledged revival in Meghalaya, the party, along with the rest of the country, rolled out an aggressive political manoeuvre - a nationwide Talent Hunt designed to draw in sharp minds, articulate voices and ideology-driven youth at a time when the state's political mood appears increasingly receptive to a Congress resurgence. The initiative, also launched in Shillong today, is being projected as the party's most ambitious mobilization exercise in years, aimed at re-energizing its cadre base and reclaiming ideological space in a fiercely competitive political landscape. As the Congress attempts to recast itself as a forward-looking, digitally fluent and constitutionally grounded force, the call being issued urges clear, educated, experienced and intellectual citizens of Meghalaya to step forward and reclaim the political narrative.
Advocate Mathew M Antony, Joint Secretary, AICC in charge of Meghalaya and Chairman/Zonal Coordinator of the National Talent Hunt, said, "It is important for us to attract the youth as well as educated people into the party, where we understand that with new-age politics, communication is the key, and this is an invitation to the people who love secular India and who believe in the Constitution of India, who believe in the ideology of Congress, to come and participate with us." Stressing that the programme is designed to tap into Meghalaya's growing interest in the party, he added, "They have brilliant skills to showcase - their articulation skills as spokespersons, their research skills as research coordinators and their PR skills as media coordinators. In the state of Meghalaya, there is a lot of interest in the Congress party right now, and we would like to see how this is received, as we want to use this opportunity to announce this opportunity to all the educated, experienced, intellectual people in the state of Meghalaya to come and be with us. Participate with us, join us and enjoy the beauty of one of the biggest and oldest parties of India, which has got the freedom of this country and developed the country."
Reasserting the ideological stakes, Nodal Coordinator Onika Mehrotra said, "As pointed out, it is going to be the game changer, and yes, people are interested, people want to voice their opinion looking at the scenario in the country, seeing how one government is trying to dismantle the Constitution, and you name anything and they try to change things as per their convenience. Anybody can come up and apply for it and be the voice of Congress." She emphasized that the selection process will hinge on ideological commitment and political clarity, noting, "The selection criteria will be commitment to Congress while using ideology, clear thinking, quick response, strong control over language and communication, political awareness and proper knowledge of history - these are the broad parameters where we are going to assess the people who want to voice their opinion and be part of the Congress party."
The application window opens today, December 1, across social media platforms. The last date for submission is December 10, followed by screening on December 11 to shortlist eligible candidates. A state-level physical interview and group discussion will take place on December 15 to finalize selections. The programme, being conducted nationwide in two phases, seeks to train and empower citizens willing to raise their voice, lead the discourse and contribute to building what the party terms an inclusive and prosperous nation.
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