New Delhi: Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is leading the party campaign for the upcoming Karnataka assembly election, will address a mega youth rally in neighbouring Telangana on Monday May 8, sources said on Thursday. AICC in-charge for Telangana, Manikrao Thakare while confirming the development to ETV Bharat said, “It is going to be a big youth rally. We will highlight the issues of the youth”.
According to Thakare, the party plans to highlight the recent SSC paper leak which has impacted a large number of youth and will also flag the lack of jobs in an attempt to target the BRS government during the May 8 rally likely to be held in Hyderabad. Thakare further said that Hyderabad youth rally on May 8, the day the Karnataka campaign will end, “will help the party reap the benefits of Priyanka’s popular appeal”.
“If the party wins in Karnataka, it will have an impact on the Congress prospects in the Telangana assembly polls to be held later this year. A victory in Karnataka will certainly help us in Telangana,” the Telangana Congress in-charge said. Pertinently, Telangana unit chief Revanth Reddy campaigned in the Chincholi, Sedam and Aland areas of Karnataka on Wednesday May 3 to campaign for the party for the upcoming assembly election and influence the voters in the border areas.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge also campaigned in the areas on the same day. On May 2, Reddy campaigned in the Basavakalyan and Humnabad and Bhalki areas ahead of Kharge’s rallies. Reddy said that Priyanka Gandhi will “highlight the problems being faced by the unemployed youth in Telangana.” Over the past weeks, both Revanth Reddy and CLP leader Bhatti Vikramark conducted padyatra across the state to mobilize the voters.
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The party had come out in support of the SSC candidates who were protesting against the paper leak. While the party protested the paper leak across the state on Apr. 21, Revanth Reddy led a rally in Nalgonda district on Apr. 28 to raise the voice of the jobless youth. Bhongir MP Komatireddy and Nalgonda MP Uttam Reddy also joined the protests.
“Telangana Congress stands with the desperate unemployed youth and will fight for their rights against the dictatorial government,” said Uttam Reddy. “The youth are clearly dissatisfied with the state government. They had given up their lives for the future of the state and are now getting a rough treatment,” he added.
The Congress leaders have been telling the youth that the grand old party “played a key role behind the creation of the state in 2014 but the ruling BRS hijacked power”. “It was the Congress which took the risk of approving the decision to carve out Telangana from Andhra Pradesh. We need to educate the youth about our role,” said Thakare.
He acknowledged that the Telangana unit had been suffering from infighting but claimed the party was united now and taking on the BRS government. “Revanth Reddy’s padyatra is over but I have asked Bhatti Vikramark to carry on with his padyatra. We will launch more pro-people campaigns over the coming days. There will also be a mass contact programme to understand the issues of the people,” Thakare added.
