Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has decided to focus on party’s traditional vote-bank of tribals, dalits and rural poor to counter the BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s growing influence in urban centres. As part of this strategy, Rahul will address another rally in tribal-dominated Baran in Kota division of Rajasthan on September 17.
Rahul, who has launched campaigning for the Assembly polls in earnest by addressing a rally in Salumber earlier this week, has decided to address a rally in Baran to challenge BJP leader Vasundhara Raje in whose area it falls. The Congress vice-president is also planning to address a rally in Ahmedabad next month as a direct challenge to BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Modi.
However, unlike Modi’s aggressive style that attacks the Congress leadership on corruption and misgovernance while projecting Gujarat model of development, Rahul is focusing on positive campaigning by focusing on the policies, programmes and pro-poor legislations — food security, land acquisition and forest rights — brought by the UPA Government.
After receiving brickbats for Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab Assembly poll results, where despite his extensive campaign the party got poor results, the Congress leader is now trying to draw solace from the party’s victory in Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand Assembly polls. Even though Rahul had no major role in these victories, the Congress leaders are not ready to concede it.
“In Bihar and UP, the Congress was not in power for over a decade due to which the party had no organisation at the grass-root level, which is not the case in Rajasthan. Moreover, the recent victory of the party in Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand has proved that people are with the policies and programmes of the Congress,” Minister of State for Finance Namo Narayan Meena told The Pioneer when questioned about Rahul’s track record of poll campaigning.
Apart from internal division within the BJP over Modi’s anointment, the track record of previous BJP Government which sold Hindustan Zinc mines and lakshmi Vilas palace to private parties would also go in favour of the Congress, Meena said. Modi’s tall talks and ABCD of corruption has no takers among tribals as the Opposition lacked policies and programmes, he claimed.
However, the complete control of the Gandhi scion over the party is evident from the fact that despite bitter rivalry the Congress leaders are trying to show unity before the November polls. During his regular meetings with PCC president and ClP leaders of various States, Rahul has been repeatedly emphasising on unity and discipline within the party and result of it was seen not only in poll bound Delhi where Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit and PCC president JP Agarwal have buried their hatchet, but also in Rajasthan.
Despite being at loggerheads with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, AICC general secretary CP Joshi showed complete bonhomie at the Salumber rally.