New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will review the Himachal Pradesh polls with senior state leaders on Tuesday and will address two rallies on Nov 9.
“Kharge will address two rallies in Banuti and Panjhera on Wednesday, a day before campaigning ends on Nov 10 for the Nov 12 polling,” AICC secretary in charge of Himachal Pradesh Sanjay Dutt told ETV Bharat. “The workers are charged up. The response to our rallies has been very good and we are confident that we will form the next government,” he said.
When asked if the crowds in the rallies could be any guarantee of votes, Dutt said that this was being done in a planned way. "The mobilization for the rallies is being done booth-wise. This will help us on polling day also. We have worked on it and we will implement our plan,” he said.
Though the Himachal campaign is being led by AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who will address four rallies in the hill state, Kharge will hold his first rally in Himachal after taking charge as Congress president on October 26.
Party insiders said Kharge is likely to adopt an aggressive posture against the ruling BJP and will highlight the failures of the state government over the past five years.
A part of Kharge’s speeches may also be directed against PM Modi who has been seeking votes for the BJP nominees in the state while blaming the Congress for making false poll promises and ignoring development.
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According to sources, Kharge is expected to push the “vote for change” line that Priyanka has been adopting in her rallies saying the people were in a mood to bring back the grand old party.
Largely, Kharge’s speeches are going to be centered around the pro-development agenda of the Congress and flag the guarantees earlier made by Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, who is also the AICC observer for the state.
Among other things, the Congress president is likely to commit that the party will bring back the old pension scheme if voted back to power besides, free electricity up to 300 units, Rs 1500 allowance for women, English medium schools, and mobile clinics.
“We are contesting the elections on a positive agenda. We have our governments in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh to showcase that we deliver what we promise. In comparison, the BJP should have been talking about its work but they are just dependent on the PM to do the campaigning. This reflects poorly on the state government,” said Dutt.
The Congress veteran discounted the charge that Congress was banking on promises to counter the AAP.
“AAP rules in neighboring Punjab. What happens in Punjab is noted by the people of Himachal. They have seen the governance dip in Punjab after the AAP came to power. I don’t think AAP is a factor in these elections. They initially tried to get a foothold but fazed out later. It is a bipolar poll between the Congress and the BJP. From the ground-level feedback, we are getting a clear majority,” said Dutt.
