With a view to garnering popular support in favour of party candidates, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will address public rallies in Uttarakhand on April 29.
But Congress president Sonia Gandhi may skip her Uttarakhand poll campaign schedule, as the party leaders here indicated.The poll campaign schedule of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is finalised. However, visits of other senior party leaders are yet to be finalised, said senior Congress leader and party’s State media in-charge Tilak Raj Behar here on Sunday.
When asked about the Uttarakhand visit of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Behar informed that even her Uttarakhand poll campaign schedule is yet to be finalised. So nothing can be said about her visit at this juncture. But apart from these senior leaders of the party, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may also campaign for the party candidates in Uttarakhand, he added.
The interesting fact is that apart from Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s rally in Udhamsingh Nagar’s Kashipur in the Terai region, Congress party leaders have also demanded to have Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s public rallies in the Punjabi dominated Terai pockets of Uttarakhand to seek popular support, though Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has so far not come in the Congress’ election campaign scene.
It may be recalled that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also came to Rudrapur to address a public rally in 2012 Assembly for the party candidate.In the meanwhile, under his Uttarkhand poll campaign schedule, the Congress vice president is expected to address three public rallies in Almora, Kashipur and Gauchar on Tuesday, April 29, as Behar informed.Besides, among the film stars Raj Babbar and Nagma are also expected to campaign for party candidates in Uttarakhand in the coming days ahead, said Behar, adding Chief Minister Harish Rawat may also address rallies to garner popular support in the Terai region.
In the meanwhile, senior party leader Behar came down heavily on the BJP supporting the state Government’s decision to have CBI inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the purchase of medicines under the National Health Rural Mission (NHRM) in the previous BJP regime . A lot of scams took place during the previous BJP Government in the state. So the truth must come out in these cases, he added. It may be recalled that Behar himself had been state health minister during the previous Congress regime.
It is note that it seems the Congress’ poll campaign has so far become a one man show led by Chief Minister Harish Rawat in the State as the party leaders here admitted. Neither any central leaders have campaigned here for the party leaders so far not any regional satraps have been seen on campaigning on the ground here.Though keeping view complaints in this regard, now the party’s central leadership has decided to send some central leaders in the days to come, it is to be seen whether the Congress party manages to retain all the five seats that it won in 2009 elections in these elections too or not.