New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi seems to be banking on a set of guarantees for the voters to wrest poll-bound Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh from the BJP. Days before he is expected to announce freebies like farm loan waiver, free power and MSP law to farmers and better social infrastructure for all in Gujarat on September 5, the former Congress chief batted for the 10 guarantees the party has listed for the voters of the hill state.
The guarantees in Himachal include revival of the old pension scheme, free power up to 300 units, 5 lakh jobs, Rs 1500 per woman, Rs 680 crore startup fund, mobile clinics, English-medium schools besides fair prices for fruit growers, buying 10 liter of milk per day from cattle owners and purchasing cow dung from them at Rs 2 per kg. “The solution to the problems of Himachal voters is the Congress guarantee,” Rahul said.
The former party chief urged the voters to read the guarantees carefully, think about their future and then vote. “The guarantees were firmed up after party workers fanned out across the nook and corner of the hill state to get feedback on the people’s problems and what they expected from the Congress,” Himachal Congress chief Pratibha Singh, also a Lok Sabha MP, told this channel.
A similar exercise is going on in Gujarat, said AICC secretary in charge of state BM Sandeep, adding that Rahul is expected to make some key announcements on September 5 at his Ahmedabad rally. According to the AICC in charge of Himachal Tajinder Pal Singh Bittu, Congress is the only party which cares for the people and designs its policies accordingly.
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“The others like the BJP and AAP just woo the voters with promises and then forget. The state government has ignored development over the past five years,” Bittu told this channel. According to Himachal CLP leader Mukesh Agnihotri, “the Congress does its homework before announcing any schemes. We know the state government has pushed the coffers into a tight position but we know how to govern and we will manage finances for the guarantees we are giving to the voters,” said Agnihotri.
To convince the voters in both Himachal and Gujarat, the Congress will cite the examples of party-ruled Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, where similar social welfare schemes have been implemented since 2018, said party insiders. While Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot is an observer for Gujarat polls, Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel is an observer for Himachal elections.
Baghel was recently appreciated by Rahul for his Godhan scheme under which the state government purchases cow dung from the farmers and uses the raw material to make usable products which are sold through special outlets. “The mobile clinics operating in the Tribal state are providing healthcare to the poor in the remote areas,” Chhattisgarh health minister TS Singh Deo said.
In Rajasthan, Gehlot’s scheme to provide free medicines to all and other welfare plans too have been appreciated by the Congress high command, said party managers. “Wherever we come to power, we will keep our promises,” said Rahul. According to an AICC functionary, Rahul believes that the party’s welfare agenda during the UPA had benefited the poor and the needy and needs to be announced in the poll-bound states to convey a message.
