Upping the stake for Gurgaon Lok Sabha seat, Congress president Rahul Gandhi will be addressing an election rally in the city on Saturday (May 4) evening at Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) ground in Sector 5. The election rally by the party chief is aimed at mobilising the urban voters as party’s think tank is expecting that its candidate captain (retd) Ajay Singh Yadav will perform reasonably well in Mewat region and Rewari.
“Congress president Rahul Gandhi will be coming to Gurugram on May 4 and will address an election rally at HUDA ground around 4.30pm. This rally will greatly mobilise the voters,” said Yadav, who is party’s candidate from Gurgaon Lok Sabha seat.
Instead of holding the rally in a rural area, the party decided to mobilise the urban voters in Gurugram as they had overwhelmingly voted for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the last election, said a senior Congress leader, who is involved in the decision making.
Congress hopes have also been buoyed by the fact that there is no strong candidate from Mewat this time, which earlier used to make the contest triangular for the seat and ensured easy victory for sitting MP Rao Inderjit Singh of BJP, said an independent political expert, preferring anonymity.
Pradeep Zaildar, senior Congress leader, said, “Whenever the electoral fight is between two candidates, the chances of defeating Singh are high. It has been our experience.”
{{/usCountry}}Pradeep Zaildar, senior Congress leader, said, “Whenever the electoral fight is between two candidates, the chances of defeating Singh are high. It has been our experience.”
{{/usCountry}}Party insiders said that as both Congress candidate Yadav and BJP’s sitting MP Singh are strong Ahir (Yadav) leaders, there is possibility that the votes of this community will split. The Congress is also expecting that Muslim voters in Mewat will vote heavily in its favour and this will help it take on the challenge posed by popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Captain (retd) Yadav, the six-time MLA from Rewari, said that the May 4 election rally would prove to be a game changer for the constituency. “We are expecting a large turnout at the rally as party supporters and people from nine assembly constituencies will attend it,” said Yadav.
Yadav said the key focus of the rally would be to highlight the failure of the BJP-led governments both at the Centre and in the state on various fronts, including infrastructure and employment. The BJP would also be held accountable for making Gurugram the most polluted city, he said.
The BJP, however, is not losing its focus due to proposed rally by Rahul Gandhi and said that work done by its governments was visible on the ground in Gurugram and across the state. “The rally is not going to influence the voters and will have no impact on the political outcome. People want action and residents of Gurugram would be worst affected by taxation if Nyay scheme conceived by Congress is launched,” said Raman Malik, a BJP spokesperson.