With Congress leader Rahul Gandhi busy with ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, his sister Priyanka Gandhi will hold the fort for her party in Himachal Pradesh, where she will start the election campaign from Solan town on Friday.
“Priyanka Gandhi will address a rally tomorrow,” said party’s spokesman Naresh Chauhan on Thursday.
Rival BJP has already placed its best bet -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has made nine visits to the state during CM Jai Ram Thakur’s tenure.
“The Jai Ram government, which failed on every front, is trying to make Prime Minister Narendra Modi the face of these assembly elections. PM’s rallies will not make much of a difference even if they hold such events in each district,” Chauhan said.
“Modi strikes an emotional chord every time he visits the state, but has not given anything concrete to it,” he added.
The Congress is eyeing a comeback in Himachal. Marred by intraparty squabbles, this is for the first time that the party will contest the elections without its stalwart leader six-term CM Virbhadra Singh. Quick-witted and charismatic, Virbhadra was the leader who could keep his flock together even against the will of the party’s high command and had led the Congress to victory single-handedly on several occasions. There is a battery of second-generation leaders in the Congress, but nobody enjoys the cult support as Virbhadra did.
Amid infighting, the party sprang a surprise in bypolls held to three assembly and one Lok Sabha segment. Considering the Virbhadra’s popularity, the high command handed over the reins to his widow Pratibha Singh after she won the Mandi Lok Sabha bypoll. The party has faced defections with two legislators Lakhwinder Rana and Pawan Kajal joining the BJP. Congress’ working president Harsh Mahajan, who remained a close confidante of Virbhadra, also shifted to the BJP.
{{/usCountry}}Amid infighting, the party sprang a surprise in bypolls held to three assembly and one Lok Sabha segment. Considering the Virbhadra’s popularity, the high command handed over the reins to his widow Pratibha Singh after she won the Mandi Lok Sabha bypoll. The party has faced defections with two legislators Lakhwinder Rana and Pawan Kajal joining the BJP. Congress’ working president Harsh Mahajan, who remained a close confidante of Virbhadra, also shifted to the BJP.
{{/usCountry}}The party so far has failed to put up a united face. The intraparty groups have remained busy camping in Delhi, most of the time to vie for tickets for the leaders.