E-Paper
INDIA bloc to focus on local issues in key cities, election-bound states
The 19-member committee will share its recommendations with the coordination and election strategy committee, which is the pivotal group for poll preparations
The INDIA bloc’s initial round of campaigns is likely to be held in Patna, Nagpur, Chennai, Guwahati and Delhi, and will gradually spread across some poll-bound states such as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and the country’s most populous state Uttar Pradesh, said two members of the panel, requesting anonymity.
The new campaign committee of the INDIA group held its first meeting on Tuesday and decided that the campaigns will mention “local elements” for better public outreach, said one member, declining to be named.
“We felt that we have to set the narrative and aggressively campaign on our tagline — Judega Bharat, Jeetega INDIA — to counter the government’s plans. Many leaders also discussed the caste census in the backdrop of the Rohini Commission’s report on sub-quota of OBCs (Other Backward Classes),” said the second member, wishing to remain anonymous.
The 19-member committee will share its recommendations with the coordination and election strategy committee, which is the pivotal group for poll preparations. “The campaign committee, INDIA held its first meeting and had preliminary discussion on the modalities and functioning,” Congress leader Gurdeep Sappal posted on X (formerly Twitter). Fifteen members attended the meeting.
The leaders discussed possible venues for the rallies. “In the Mumbai meeting, Patna, Nagpur, Chennai, Guwahati and Delhi were identified as venues for the first five public rallies,” said a non-Congress leader, seeking anonymity. “Today, when the members discussed the plan, many leaders suggested rallies should also be held in Uttar Pradesh and poll-bound states such as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Chhattisgarh.”
The Congress Working Committee, which will meet in Hyderabad on September 16-17, will be followed by a public rally. The alliance leaders have planned to have the next INDIA meeting at Bhopal and hold a public rally after the brainstorming sessions, said the leader.
In the campaign panel meeting, many leaders suggested the focal point of each rally should have elements that are important to the concerned state. “We can’t say the same thing in Bihar and Chennai. The issues, politics, social structures are different,” the first member said. “In Patna, we have to talk on social justice and caste census, while in Chennai, we might need other issues.”
The common themes of the INDIA campaign across states would be issues such as “unemployment, price rise, manipulation in GDP figures, how the government rapidly hiked the (cooking gas) cylinder price and then gave discount of ₹200,” according to a third member.
The panel will meet again on September 11 to discuss setting up a secretariat, among other things, the third member said.
