New Delhi Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday appealed to the people of Kerala to vote for the United Democratic Front (UDF) alliance in the assembly elections in the state and “strengthen the Congress nationally”.
“By voting for the UDF in Kerala you will also be voting to strengthen the Congress party nationally. The Congress can confront the divisive forces who are damaging and destroying all that India has stood for and represented for twenty centuries and more,” Gandhi said in a statement. Kerala goes to the polls on April 6.
Gandhi has not participated in the Congress’s campaign for the ongoing elections due to the prevailing Covid-19 situation.
In her appeal to the voters, Gandhi also said a vote for the UDF is “a vote for the future of Kerala” and for “preserving its democratic traditions and its secular values”, adding that the Congress-led alliance will bring Kerala back on the path of development and ensure a “decent, guaranteed monthly income to all families but particularly to the poor and the disadvantaged, to the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, to fishermen and women, to widows and the aged”.
The Kerala election is crucial for the Congress as a victory could consolidate Rahul Gandhi’s grip over the party that has suffered frictions between the old guard and the young leaders over the functioning of the party.
{{/usCountry}}The Kerala election is crucial for the Congress as a victory could consolidate Rahul Gandhi’s grip over the party that has suffered frictions between the old guard and the young leaders over the functioning of the party.
{{/usCountry}}The Congress chief also spoke about the NYAY scheme — the assured income scheme that was pegged as the main plank of the party in its 2019 campaign — saying: “The Congress will make the “NYAY SCHEME” the edifice of the next UDF government. This will ensure a guaranteed monthly income for each family in the state, particularly for families belonging to the poor and disadvantaged sections.”