New Delhi: Former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi is going to enter the Karnataka poll campaign and will address a rally in Hubli on May 6. “Sonia ji will address a rally in Hubli. Her visit is going to provide a major booster to the Congress campaign,” senior state leader BK Hari Prasad told this channel.
The May 6 visit of Sonia Gandhi is significant as she has so far remained out of the Karnataka campaign being led by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, former chief Rahul Gandhi and AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The choice of the venue is significant as Congress has fielded former BJP chief minister Jagadish Shettar, a Lingayat leader, from Hubli.
Party insiders said Sonia Gandhi is seen as the leader who passed several entitlement laws like the MGNREGA, Right to Education and Right to Food during the previous UPA government and her speech will provide sharper focus to the Congress’ social welfare agenda for the May 10 assembly polls. The entry of the former party chief is also significant as she had famously defeated BJP stalwart Sushma Swaraj from Bellary in the 1999 Lok Sabha polls.
The old timers recalled how Priyanka, who campaigned for her mother, helped Sonia turn the tide against Swaraj. "Priyanka ji greeted the people in Kannada and gave a fiery speech. The BJP’s fate was sealed in that rally," recalled Hari Prasad, adding that Priyanka’s ongoing rallies and roadshows too are benefitting the Congress.
The old timers also recalled the 1978 Lok Sabha by-poll in Chikkamagaluru from where former prime minister late Indira Gandhi made her political comeback. The by-poll win was followed by a Congress revival in 1980. “That was a remarkable turnaround,” said Hari Prasad. Before the Chikkamangluru by poll, Indira Gandhi had visited the famous Sharda Peeth, where Priyanka too visited in April.
The context between the two visits is interesting. The 1978 by-poll came after Indira Gandhi’s Lok Sabha membership was taken away and Priyanka’s visit came after Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha membership was taken away on March 24. The Congress has alleged that Rahul’s Lok Sabha membership was taken away as part of a BJP conspiracy to silence the leader.
According to party strategists, the May 10 Karnataka polls are a tightly contested one, and PM Modi had been forced to lead the BJP’s juggernaut to deal with the anti-incumbency facing the Bommai government. The grand old party has also been citing recent surveys, which show an edge to the Congress, to support its charge and points out the lack of pro-people issues in the BJP’s campaign as an indicator.
“Our campaign is going on very well. The voters are responding positively and there is impact on the ground. We are confident to get a comfortable majority,” said Hari Prasad. The Congress veteran charged the BJP had sensed its defeat and was therefore trying to rake up issues like Bajrang Dal.
“The BJP will not get any benefit. Bajrang Dal has no presence in Karnataka. They are desperate to create a controversy. What we have said in our manifesto is that we will take action against anybody who tries to disturb communal harmony,” said Hari Prasad.
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