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Rahul Gandhi to tour Gujarat ahead of elections
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s poll campaign in Gujarat will be a short one, said a party leader.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who gave Himachal Pradesh election campaign a miss, is set to undertake a brief publicity drive, starting from November 21, for the Gujarat assembly elections, people familiar with the matter said.
Polling for the 182-member Gujarat legislative assembly will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5. Counting of votes will be done on December 8.
Gandhi’s poll campaign in Gujarat will be a short one, said a Congress leader. “We are expecting him to come for just two days,” the leader said, requesting anonymity.
BK Hariprasad, one of the party’s five zonal observers for the upcoming assembly elections, however, said: “Rahul ji is our important campaigner. He will definitely campaign for both phases of the elections. In the first phase, he will campaign in South Gujarat and Saurashtra.”
The former Congress president’s presence in Saurashtra will be important as the party has a strong hold in the region. In 2017 assembly elections, the Congress swept the Saurashtra region which helped it to bag 77 seats in the assembly and keep the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to under 100 seats in the 182-member House.
Similarly, in South Gujarat, where the BJP won in Surat and adjoining areas, the Congress performed well in Scheduled Tribe belts.
Of the 182 assembly constituencies in the state, nearly 50% or 90 seats fall in Saurashtra and South Gujarat regions.
“In the second phase of the elections, Rahul ji will cover North and Central Gujarat,” said Hariprasad.
Rahul Gandhi, the Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad in Kerala, has embarked on the ambitious Bharat Jodo Yatra since September 7 and is among a few participants who have covered the entire route so far walking. The yatra aims to flag issues such as the economic woes and social harmony, however, it does not cover Gujarat.
In the Himachal Pradesh elections, voting for which took place on November 12, Gandhi did not take part in the poll campaign and instead focused entirely on the foot march. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was the only member from the Gandhi family to campaign in the hilly state.
Party insiders pointed out that Gujarat elections will require the full might of the Congress campaign given its context.
The Congress has been out of power in Gujarat since 1995. “A victory for the Congress in Gujarat would have a national significance ahead of the 2024 general elections,” said a senior Congress leader, requesting anonymity.
Congress leaders, however, admit it would be an uphill task to defeat the BJP, which has been in power in Gujarat for the last 27 years, in the upcoming polls. “It would be extremely difficult to defeat the BJP. But last time, we restrain the BJP to 99 seats. If we can shrink the BJP further, that too, would be a major booster for the party in the upcoming polls,” said another party leader.
