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Rahul Gandhi to hold meet in Dungarpur today
Dungarpur, a tribal district in south Rajasthan, is part of the Vagad region. The venue of Rahul Gandhi’s second public event in Rajasthan has been chosen to reach out to the tribal population that has traditionally been the Congress voters.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi will address a public meeting in Sagwara area of Dungarpur district on Thursday during his second visit to the state in the poll season. Earlier, he held a road show in Jaipur on August 11.
Dungarpur, a tribal district in south Rajasthan, is part of the Vagad region. The venue of Rahul Gandhi’s second public event in Rajasthan has been chosen to reach out to the tribal population that has traditionally been the Congress voters.
After the Dungarpur visit, the Congress president is scheduled to visit Rajasthan again in October, but the venue would be decided later.
In July 2017, Gandhi had visited the neighbouring Banswara district taking up the farmers’ issues, such as loan waiver and bonus. All five assembly seats in Dungarpur and Banswara are reserved for the scheduled tribes.
BJP president Amit Shah also reached out to the tribal people on Tuesday, but in the Mewar region. He addressed them in Udaipur. In Rajasthan politics, it is said that the party that wins Mewar, wins Rajasthan. Even CM Vasundhara Raje chose to start her Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra from Charbhuja temple (Rajsamand) in the Mewar region underlining its significance in the state’s politics.
In 2003, BJP won 22 of the 33 seats in the Mewar region. In 2008, post-delimitation, the number of seats in the region went up to 35. In 2008, Congress won 24 and BJP 9. In the 2013, BJP swept the region by winning 30 seats.
Political experts believe that Gandhi’s rally in Dungarpur is planned to regain its traditional tribal vote bank. Congress has been trusted by tribals, but in the last election they switched to BJP. Of around 35 assembly seats in the Mewar region, Congress used to dominate on around 22 seats, which reduced to four in the last assembly elections.
