For a change, Congress takes 'cow route' to woo voters in Assam

For a change, the Congress seems to be taking the 'cow route' to woo the voters ahead of the three-phased assembly polls in Assam., writes ETV Bharat's Assistant News Editor Anup Sharma.

New Delhi: Taking a cue from the ruling BJP, the Congress seems to be taking the 'cow route' to woo the voters ahead of the three-phased assembly polls in Assam.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday released the party's poll manifesto for Assam in Guwahati and for a change, it had a lot of saffron hue.

The Congress has promised to establish 'Gau shalas' in each district of Assam, which was hitherto been unheard of in the political discourse of Assam and other northeastern states.

Narrating about the party's plan to set up 'Gau shalas' in each district, the Congress leader said that the party leaders had traversed across the length and breadth of Assam and met people before finalizing its manifesto. He said that the party has decided to have 'Gau shalas' in each district as the people wanted their cows, who are unable to yield milk, to be looked after.

The Congress' fascination with the cows or 'gau matas' is, however, a recent development. The grand old party has of late been seen experimenting with the 'cow route' to counter the growth of BJP. In the recent past, the grand old party had experimented with the cows in 2018 during the election to Madhya Pradesh assembly. The party had not only assured to establish cow sanctuaries and Gaushalas in each panchayat of the state but also promised to start commercial production of gau mutra (cow urine) considering its 'health benefits'.

Party's chief of the Uttar Pradesh unit Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had last year written to the state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath about the plights of cows in gaushalas in the state and started a foot march to save the cows in UP. The party named the foot march "Gai Bachao, Kisan Bachao yatra" and justified the foot march saying that the cows are an integral part of the rural economy.

Read:Assam polls: Rahul Gandhi releases election manifesto

"Cows have been an integral part of Indian culture and the BJP had successfully made the cow a part of the election narrative since the beginning. So probably the Congress has also decided to counter this by taking the cow route. The announcement could serve two purposes for the Congress--firstly, it will silently push a pro-Hindutva agenda of the party and secondly, it might also help the grand old party to discard the common narrative that it is a party indulged in much Muslim appeasement," said Guwahati based political analyst and senior journalist Haider Hussain.

It may be mentioned here that the Congress in Assam this time going to polls by joining hands with the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), a party commonly branded as 'Muslim party'. So, the 'gau shalas' might help the party to instil confidence among the Hindu voters despite having an alliance with the AIUDF.

Read:Assam polls: Rahul Gandhi releases election manifesto

Congress Lok Sabha MP and party's spokesman Abdul Khaleque, however, put it in a different way. "There is a difference between the approach between the BJP and Congress. The manifesto we have released today is a reflection of the aspirations of the people of Assam. The announcements regarding the gau shalas are included as cows are related to the livelihood of people of Assam," Khaleque said.

However, how far the grand old party succeeds in influencing the voters in Assam through the 'cow route' will be worth watching.