The DA has changed tack in its elections strategy, dropping its ambitious plan to form a national coalition government and setting a more modest goal of limiting ANC support to 55%.
Insiders have told the Sunday Times the party had to be "realistic" about President Cyril Ramaphosa; he was "well liked" and would prove a tough opponent.
A senior DA member who asked not to be named said that in view of Ramaphosa's popularity, the party had decided to focus its campaigning for the May 8 elections at provincial level and on tackling local issues.
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"We stand more chances of being in government if we pour our hearts into the provinces and grow our votes there, then let the campaign filter to all South Africans and grow our national vote," this DA source said.
"The reality is that we want to shrink the share of the ANC to below 60%, even 55%, and we are aware we will not go from 22.23% to be the majority," the source said, referring to the percentage of the vote that the DA won in the last national elections in 2014.
"Our strategy to grow starts at local, provincial and ultimately national [level]."
The most recent poll conducted by the DA showed support for the ANC stood at 55%.
Another DA insider said the party's strategy was to run campaigns led by its candidates for provincial premier posts. "These are candidates and people who have recognition in their communities and their provinces."
This source said that in the past it made sense to run a national campaign targeted at criticising the ANC president, but now that Jacob Zuma was out of the picture that was no longer the case.
"Zuma was the centre of the problems SA faced, therefore it was wise for us to go after him," the source said.
DA national spokesperson Solly Malatsi said the DA's election objectives have always been retaining the Western Cape, pegging the ANC below 50% in Gauteng and the Northern Cape, and growing the party's national support across the country.
"We have seen encouraging support levels emerging from the provinces. From the Free State to KwaZulu-Natal, the DA is growing in many areas. We are the only party of two in this country which has the capacity to campaign in every community with a team, led by Mmusi Maimane, that has the depth and the commitment to serve," he said.
Makashule Gana, a member of the DA national campaign team, said the party was campaigning on community issues that were close to people's daily lives.
"If you talk about Eskom corruption, it seems like it's a faraway thing, but if you talk about corruption, [like] sex for jobs at a local level as it relates to EPWP [expanded public works projects] jobs, then people understand it."
He said the party was also trying to explain major national issues in terms that helped voters understand how decisions taken in the top echelons of government affected their day-to-day lives.
"Ours is not to fight Cyril, ours is to fight for South Africans. Cyril must do what he needs to do, we must do what we have to do to save SA," he said.
The party was not shying away from taking on Ramaphosa, Gana insisted.
"We are prioritising the voters, we are not prioritising fighting Cyril … We are more concerned about South Africans. Ours is not to fight Cyril or to try to sound better than him."
Nqaba Bhanga, leader of the DA in the Eastern Cape, said he still wanted to cut ANC support to below 50% and he had told DA volunteers to aim for that target.
"In Gauteng, the goal is that we increase our support from all the township areas," said a Gauteng leader.
He said the party was aiming to double its support in Soweto and win a larger share of the vote in the Gauteng municipalities it controls - Tshwane, Johannesburg and Midvaal...