The Congress party on Friday released a list of its star campaigners for the fourth phase of polls in Jharkhand. The list includes bigwigs like Congress president Sonia Gandhi, former Bihar MP Shatrughan Sinha, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
The party is contesting 31 out of 81 seats here as a part of a tripartite alliance between Congress party, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). However, party leaders have announced that Congress’ star campaigners will also campaign for candidates of its two allies in Jharkhand.
While former Congress president Rahul Gandhi is set to address a rally in Simdega on December 2, no other member of the Gandhi family has attended electioneering in Jharkhand so far. The first list of star campaigners released by the party did not even mention the name of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Sources from the party said that Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka will address rallies in the State but the dates and venues were yet to be finalised.
Rahul Gandhi, who had raised slogans of ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’ during his last public appearance in Simdega on May 2 and projected the party as custodian of tribal rights, has stayed away from the political happenings in Jharkhand since. Earlier, in the month of March, he addressed a rally in Ranchi’s Morhabadi Ground and won public applause for shaking a leg on tribal beats.
“Rahulji will also seek votes for all the Mahagathbandhan candidates during his visit to Jharkhand and share the objectives of the Mahagathbandhan allies with the people of the State,” said JPCC Spokesperson Alok Dubey.
Star campaigners of the Congress party have been frequenting Jharkhand as the State readies to go to polls on November 30. On Wednesday, Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel addressed election rallies in Bhawanathpur and Daltonganj and asked the voters to scrutinise the works that the ruling Government claims to have done in the past five years.
The Congress party has fielded candidates for 31 of 81 seats here, while the JMM will contest 43 seats. RJD, as per the seat sharing equation of the allies, will contest the remaining seven seats.
