Getting into poll mode, the Chandigarh Congress has geared up to embark on a fortnight long election campaigning to ensure propagation of UPA’s success story in last 10 years.
All set to kickstart election campaign for upcoming lok Sabha polls on Sunday, the Chandigarh Congress has decided to undertake a padyatra (campaign on foot) to reach out to the city denizens ahead of the elections.
The 15-day padyatra would focus on apprising the residents about the achievements of Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government at the Centre in the last 10 years. Besides carrying placards and publicity material with regard to the party, the Congress leaders will distribute a pamphlet among the people during the padyatra. Giving a detailed account of schemes and policies that had been launched during UPA’s tenure to empower the general public, the pamphlet will also make an appeal to the citizens to vote for the Congress for building a strong nation.
The UPA achievements like Right To Information Act, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, Food Security Act, Direct Benefits Transfer among other schemes would be included in the pamphlet.
With an aim to ensure propagation of UPA’s success story, the city Congress unit has also asked party’s women wing and youth wing to constitute teams to conduct padyatra in various parts of the city.
A meeting to discuss the election campaign strategy was called at party’s office on Friday. The party has decided to cover all parts of the city including sectors, villages, colonies of Chandigarh through its 15-day long padyatra campaign.
Talking to The Pioneer, Congress Chandigarh President BB Behl said, “The party will undertake 15-day long padyatra campaign to highlight the achievements of Congress-led UPA during its ten years tenure in the country.”
Behl said, “A pamphlet highlighting UPA’s achievement would be distributed to the city residents during the padyatra. The MCC works in last five years would also be included in the pamphlet. The padyatra in Chandigarh would be the part of nationwide campaign of the Congress party. While the nationwide campaign would be organised for one week, the padyatra campaign in Chandigarh would continue for 15 days.”
“With an intent to cover all areas of the city, teams have been constituted to undertake padyatra. Senior party leaders would be the part of this campaign. Also, party’s women wing and youth wing have been directed to conduct padyatra in the city,” added Behl. With lok Sabha polls likely to be announced in a week’s time, barring Congress, all the political parties in Chandigarh have already started election campaigning.
At the time when the Opposition BJP is launching innovative campaigns to popularise its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, the Congress has now decided to rely on padyatra campaign to woo the voters of the city.
The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have already been actively campaigning across the city. Eyeing the lok Sabha polls, the Chandigarh BJP has launched ‘NaMo Tea Party’, ‘Missed Call’ among other campaigns while AAP is organising Jhadu (broom) Yatra to connect with the voters of Chandigarh.
Going by the results of all the previous lok Sabha elections from 1967 when this seat came into existence, the Congress has won this seat seven times.
The current Congress local MP Pawan Kumar Bansal had won in 1991, 1999, 2004 and 2009. During 2009 lok Sabha elections, Bansal had retained Chandigarh’s constituency recording a hat-trick on the seat.
This is for the first time that there are five more aspirants to get Congress ticket from Chandigarh seat for lok Sabha polls, apart from the sitting MP and former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal.