The ANC will capitalise on women's support and is in talks with rivals of its alliance partner.
ANC deputy secretary general Jessie Duarte revealed this at a breakfast briefing of journalists in Johannesburg on Monday morning.
"The ANC is strongest among women between the ages of 18 and 65 and women make up 53% of the population," she said.
They're also the most registered, said Duarte. "Men don't register for elections as much as women."
Unlike in previous years, when the ANC focused mainly on its ally, the Congress of the South African Trade Unions, for the workers' vote, the ruling party is holding talks with other trade unions, including Cosatu's bitter rival The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu).
"Do we talk to Amcu? There's no reason we shouldn't. The people who vote ANC, some of them are Amcu members. Amcu is not a political party, it's a trade union," said Duarte.
Increased majority
Duarte, flanked by ANC head of the presidency Amos Masondo, who is also national elections co-ordinator, said the ANC is confident that it's going to win the 2014 elections with an increased majority.
"We're looking at it as if this is the election of 1994," said Duarte, who acknowledged that 20 years is a mark whereby former liberation movements either take a knock or improve themselves.
One of the key strategies this time around is to hold manifesto meetings with the public, in what Duarte said will give voters an opportunity to contribute to the ANC's manifesto.
"We're going to go to 45 major municipalities where we'll be asking people what they want to see in the ANC manifesto," said Duarte.
"Our manifesto will be a truly people manifesto. Our branches will also convene similar meetings."
Duarte and Masondo resisted going into too much detail about the party's manifesto, but it is clear that the ANC will stress its successes and concede to some challenges with a fresh promise to resolve those issues.
"You're unlikely this year to get a message from any political party about their manifesto or their plans," said Masondo.
"The reason for that is clear, political parties tend to steal ideas from others. Whatever you'll get will be a bigger picture."
Bad timing
But Duarte had a different reason for holding back. "It's not the right time to pronounce our manifesto. If you peak too soon, voters become disenfranchised."
Challenges for the ANC include fighting corruption, which Duarte said the party is not shying away from, and slow service delivery in some areas.
Masondo said there are still many citizens who do not have access to clean water, electricity and houses. "But the commitment remains from the ANC's side that all of these things will be achieved."
Duarte said people feel that the ANC has not done enough, particularly in informal settlements, but that it is not possible to plan for the continuing migration from rural to urban areas. "We're not able to catch up fast enough.
"Priorities for the ANC right now include development of infrastructure for rural areas. There's a massive backlog of service delivery, especially in rural areas."
Masondo said the ANC is going into 2014 elections as "a powerful brand because of a solid, credible image the ANC has built in past years".
The ANC's national elections team has started visiting provinces to check the state of readiness of party structures for elections. North West and Limpopo have been receiving increased attention because of factional battles, while the crusade to reclaim the Western Cape continues.
List processes are expected to begin soon to decide on ANC representatives for the National Assembly and provincial legislatures.