New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday rejected a whisper campaign suggesting that Rahul Gandhi had not campaigned in the poll-bound state since the dates were announced over his alleged differences with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. Though Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited Rajasthan over the past weeks, Rahul, who was spending a lot of time in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana had been missing in action since the Rajasthan schedule was announced. This had given wings to the whisper campaign that he was miffed with Gehlot.
“This is a smear campaign against us by the BJP. The party is fighting the elections unitedly. Our top leadership, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, had been busy with other poll-bound states. They will soon be in Rajasthan,” AICC general secretary in-charge of Rajasthan SS Randhawa told ETV Bharat.
According to party insiders, Rahul is expected to campaign in Rajasthan’s Suratgarh, Taranagar and Nohar by addressing three public rallies on November 16. Polling for the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly will be held on November 25. Results will be out on December 3. “From November 16 onwards Kharge will spend three days, Rahul four days and Priyanka three days in Rajasthan,” a senior AICC functionary said. According to the AICC secretary in-charge of Rajasthan Qazi Nizamuddin, “Rahul is committed to Rajasthan.”
“Rahul walked through the longest stretch of 18 days in Rajasthan during his Bharat Jodo Yatra. The policies that are being implemented in Rajasthan or poll promises that are being made by the party are all based on the conversations that he had with the poor and marginalised sections in the state during the yatra. The party is united from Kharge down to the booth-level worker and we are going to win a second term,” said Nizamuddin.
According to party insiders, Gehlot has been instructed to include photographs of his rival Sachin Pilot in various posters to project a picture of unity at the venue of Rahul’s rallies. Before that Gehlot had informed Kharge of the likely negative fallout of the whisper campaign against the Congress in the state. Recently, a hoarding about a poll guarantee related to women carrying the picture of both Gehlot and Pilot had surfaced in various parts of the state. The party insiders further stated that it was at Rahul’s instance that Pilot was asked to campaign for the Congress candidates in Madhya Pradesh on November 14 and 15.
On his part, Pilot has been repeatedly saying during his campaigns in Rajasthan that the party was united and that he had moved on following directions from both Kharge and Rahul. Reports of some differences between Gehlot and Rahul emerged when the party was in the process of finalising candidates. Gehlot was keen on repeating some MLAs while Rahul had reservations about them as per an internal survey report given to him. However, later, AICC in-charge Randhawa stated that all was well and the ticket distribution was by and large good. Yet, Kharge had to deploy veteran Mukul Wasnik to convince over two dozen rebels to withdraw against official party candidates.
Also read: PM Modi to address public meetings in Rajasthan's Barmer, Bharatpur, Nagaur
