Bengaluru: Over a week after BJP’s National President Amit Shah’s directions to revamp the party from booth level, the Karnataka Congress in-charge K.C. Venugopal yesterday held a review meeting of the party’s poll preparedness.

One of the issues that dominated the meeting was the failure of legislators who are also the party general secretaries and secretaries, in constituting booth committees. Upset over this, Venugopal fumed at State Congress leaders and set a deadline of one week to complete the formation of booth-level committees.

Last time when Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi was in Karnataka, he had specifically asked them to constitute booth level committees which the party feel is the lifeline for winning elections. During the review, Venugopal found that in nearly 65 constituencies represented by MLAs and ministers close to Chief Minister Siddharamaiah, booth level committees were not constituted in spite of KPCC President Dr G. Parameshwara holding four meetings in this regard and reminding the MLAs and ministers. However, they reportedly did not co-operate with the party functionaries.

On learning about this, Venugopal took the leaders to task making it clear that either they should buck up and do the work or they should give up party posts. He said the MLAs and ministers had originally won the elections on Congress tickets, so they could not ignore the party diktat.

Analysing the poll preparedness meticulously, Venugopal reportedly said, “Booth committees have been formed successfully wherever the party has lost in the past. But where the party is in power, there is hardly any progress. What is preventing our leaders from working towards that goal?”

He instructed the office-bearers that every booth committee must have at least 14 members and AICC Vice President Rahul Gandhi will personally attend a mega rally of 66,000 booth-level workers in North Karnataka region in September.

Later speaking to reporters, Venugopal admitted that the contest was between the Congress and the BJP in the coming polls to the state Assembly and Congress was up for any challenge from the saffron party.  “Our party in Karnataka is ready to take on any challenge from the BJP as we have fulfilled 80 per cent of the promises made in our 2013 election manifesto and will fulfil the rest in the coming months,” he said.