Prashant Kishor aka `PK”, the poll strategist who once organised `chai pe charcha’ for Narendra Modi during his campaign in last Parliamentary elections, had now invaded another idea of bringing similar fortune for Rahul Gandhi, by planning `Khat Sabha’ (charpoy meeting)during Congress vice-president’s proposed 2500 Kilometers ‘Deoria se Dilli Kisan Yatra’.
Sources also said that as the Party was relying heavily on `PK” to change their fortune so during the above Yatra covering 39 districts and 55 Parliament constituencies, Rahul Gandhi, who will pass through Ayodhya, would make a brief stop for darshan of `Ram lalla’. While a big section of the Congressmen believed that this move would upset their minority vote bank but then many others claimed that it would give the Party a true `secular’ image and would help them to attract the upper caste voters, particularly the `Brahmins’ who deserted them in the name of `Hindutwa’.
Sources said that to catch the sentiments of the farmers community who supported Congress during 2009 Parliament elections as UPA-1 had waived off their loans, `PK’ had now planned `Khat Sabha’ for Rahul coming Yatra starting from Deoira from September 6. During this `Khat Sabha’ with the villagers and farmers (just on the lines of chaupal but with much larger gathering)Rahul will not only reply to the questions and problems raised before him but the members of PK team and dedicated Congress workers would get forms filled and signed by them during which they will try to extract the points which the people wanted to get addressed to over come their trauma. These forms will be later used to draft the manifesto. However, during these meetings, Rahul will try to convince the farmers that if his (Congress) government would be installed in Uttar Pradesh than their pending electricity bills will be reduced to half and all their loans will be once again waived off. Not only this, they will also ask the farmers whether Narendra Modi’s government is giving them a support price which is 50 percent more than the cost incurred on production as promised by PM during his election campaign, and at the same time Rahul will assure them that the Congress will give them a much better support price.
Sources in the Congress confirmed that `Khat Sabha’ was also planned by `PK’ as his teams members argued that Rahul is much better off in his meetings with smaller groups, one-to-one interactions with farmers, unorganised labourers, women, youth and so on rather than making lengthy speeches at public rallies, it would be better one to one interaction. It may be mentioned that recent meeting of Congress held in Rama Bai Ground here in lucknow, Rahul made a big impact particularly on youths when he free answered all the questions while walking on a ramp. PK team felt that now such meetings of Rahul through `Khat Sabha’ in rural areas will definitely bring Rahul Gandhi much closer to the public than just be addressing them from dais. However, how far the PK team will succeed only the time will tell as just before last Assembly elections, Rahul had landed in Bhatta Parsaul to oppose land acquisition policies of then chief minister Mayawati. It ended in his march from there to Aligarh. En-route Rahul was doing exactly what the Congress party strategists have planned now `Khat Sabha’. The result was for everyone to see. Congress figured nowhere in the region when the results of last Assembly elections were announced.
It may be mentioned that the Congress vice- president, who is set to go for a 2500 kilometer long yatra in Uttar Pradesh from September 6 from Deoria in Eastern UP ahead of the 2017 assembly polls, has also promised to take up farmers issue and fight for debt waiver scheme for the farmers. “Bring Congress government back in UP to ensure development in the state,” will be the key word during the 2,500km long Yatra which could culminate in Delhi. The Yatra will touch 39 districts, 55 lok Sabha constituencies and 233 assembly constituencies, a mega outreach to voters in the heartland.