To give the required edge to its poll campaign that has allegedly become a one-man show led by Chief Minister Harish Rawat and more importantly, to boost morale of the party workers at the ground level, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi will campaign for the party candidates in Uttarakhand likely by end of this month.
The State Congress party has allegedly not been able to energise the party cadre as it should have been, as the party insiders here believe, as a result of which campaigning for the party candidates has not yet got the momentum in different pockets of each lok Sabha seat in Uttarakhand.
“Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi are expected to come here soon to campaign for the party candidates both in the Kumaon and Garhwal divisions,” Dheerendra Pratap, State Congress party spokesperson, told The Pioneer.
The Congress party election campaign committee is going to meet on April 24 to chart out the party’s poll campaign schedule ahead for the hill State, State Congress party spokesperson Pratap said.
“But apart from Congress president and Congress vice president, who will campaign for party candidates as star campaigners in Uttarakhand, will be decided in that meeting,” added Pratap.
Though Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has so far not come in the Congress’ election campaign scene, keeping in view a sizeable chunk of Punjabi voters in Terai region of the Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar parliamentary constituency, he may campaign for the party candidate in such Punjabi dominated pockets like Rudrapur in Udham Singh Nagar district.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had also came to Rudrapur to address a public rally in 2012 assembly for the party candidate.
However, the interesting fact here is that whereas Chief Minister Rawat has been continuously campaigning in different assembly segments of each lok Sabha constituency even before the announcements of thepoll dates, regional satraps have not been so actively campaigning for the party candidates.
Sudden exit of Pauri MP Satpal Maharaj came only as a big blow for the Congress party just ahead of the lok Sabha elections. However, at the backdrop of these political developments, to assess the party’s preparations for the upcoming lok Sabha elections which are going to be held in eighth phase in Uttarakhand on May 7, the Congress Party central leadership has already deployed its representative and party’s co-in charge of Uttarakhand affairs Chaudhary lal Singh.
As the party insiders here believe although the mountainous state has only five lok Sabha seats, yet the Congress party does not seem to be in a mood to take lok sabha elections in Uttarakhand lightly.
Because, the popular verdict will not only be seen here as a referendum on the Harish Rawat led State Government, but it will also reflect party’s popularity in the State. However, it is to be seen how the Congress party moves ahead to intensify its election campaign with the help of its star election campaigners when challenge of retaining all five seats in the hill State also remains high.