Chennai: Keen to revive the Congress in Tamil Nadu, party leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday asked Youth Congress members to "slowly and systematically" build the organisation and urged more youngsters to join politics.
"This battle of yours to build the future of Congress will not be easy. Building the party, which has been out of power for (nearly) 40 years is going to take time. We should be prepared to work, especially at the grassroots level," he told newly elected office-bearers of the state unit of Indian Youth Congress here.
Arriving to a thunderous applause, Rahul expressed happiness at the "energy" in the YC members, which he said was missing in his previous meetings with them.
Saying that the Congress as a party was identified with the youth, he said the doors were open for more youngsters to join the party.
During his interaction with the office-bearers, the Congress General Secretary was asked to quantify in percentage the number of seats that could be allotted to youth in next year's local body polls, but he refused to do so.
"It is a difficult number to give and I would not give it. But I want as many youngsters as possible to fight elections," he said.
During the interaction, the Congress leader told his supporters that nothing was more powerful than "getting close to and working with the people," and urged his partymen to raise from the grassroots level.
Rahul said he wished to see more YC members "fight and win elections (local body)." If one cannot fight and win elections at the panchayat level, one cannot raise in the ranks, he said.
"I have been in politics for six years. The only method to come up is to be close to people and work for them. We are going to find such leaders from you though it will take some time," he added.
"Whether it be a Prime Minister or local leader, one has to work for the people. The day you start working for the people and not for yourself, you will succeed," Rahul said.
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