Going for the Congress in
Bihar does not appear to be tough. The February 3 Jana Akansha Rally of
Congress held after 28 years at Patna’s Gandhi maidan made it explicit that
Congress has gained considerable ground in the state in the recent months and
is not the spent force as is being made out.
What was quite noticeable was the turn out of the youngsters. Even its
political opponents conceded the fact that the show was quite impressive.
Till three days back, the
mahagathbandhan partners particularly were reluctant to take Congress
seriously. The RJD hasmade it categorically clear that it was not willing to
give more than 10 seats for the Lok Sabha to the Congress. While the Congress
wanted to field at least 20 candidates, the RJD termed it as impossible
proposition.
The rally also witnessed a
significant development of formal announcement of launching of the
mahagathbandhan by the Congress chief Rahul Gandhi. So farall the constituents
have been waiting for the formal meet. But Rahul grabbed the opportunity and
announced that the mahagathbandhan would
not only fight the Lok Sabha election together but also contest the assembly
elections next year. Hetook extra care to announce that RJD leader
Tejashvialongwith other leaders would play the crucial role.
This announcement was
primarily aimed at reassuring the RJD that it can have major say in the
assembly election. This would provide the RJD with the option not to stake
claim for a bigger number of LS seats. RJD is contemplating to contest 22 seats
out of 40 LS seats. The sources close to Congress point out that the party
would prefer RJD and other left parties, especially CPI(ML) to eke out their
shares from the remaining 20 seats.
A few months back the CPI(ML)
general secretary, Dipankar Bhattacharya had told that he was not averse to
joining hands with RJD. Coming together of Congress, RJD and left parties would
make going extremely tough for the BJP which has already been losing its
support base in the state. In fact the loss for the BJP has been the gain for
the Congress.
Meanwhile some alliance
partners have mooted the idea of Tejashvi being nominated as the convenor of
the mahagathbandhan. This would simply boost his image and strengthen his
status in the eyes of the alliance partners. In such a backdrop the Congress
will have smooth sailing too. With Tejashvi as the convenor a broader alliance
could be created which would capture diverse social constituencies which would
pose a serious challenge to the BJP-JD(U) combine.
Mood of the Bihari people,
especially youths is changing, was evident from the profile of the
participants. Of the partakers not less than 40 per cent were young and
responded cheerfully to the calls of Rahul Gandhi who took them by surprise by
announcing that the Congress would implement minimum guarantee income scheme
for the poor of the state.
As the name Akansha of the
rally implied, Rahul Gandhi tried to establish strong relation with the
aspirations of the peasants, farmers and youths of the state. While he promised
that loan waiver would be implemented in Bihar as has been done in three
Congress ruled states of Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, he assured
to revive the sugar mills in the states which in the past had been the main
source of income.
Thrust of Rahul’s speech on
farmers made it abundantly clear that his focus is not primarily on the urban
middle class. The rural poor, the farmers and the youth constitute his main
task force. He took jibes at Modi for
his alleged patronage to Ambani, Neerav Modi and other billionaires ignoring
the plights and miseries of the farmers. He chastised Modi for neglecting and
ill treating the farmers. He sent enough
indication that Congress was banking on the peasants and farmers for its
electoral triumph.
Significantly an impression
was sent across that Rahul has been working for the poor and was worried for
their cause. Though it wasa Congress
rally, almost all the senior leaders of the mahagathbandhan were present which
include Tejashvi, Jitan Ram Majhi, Sharad Yadav, UpendraKushwaha. Even CPI
state secretary Satyanaraian was also present. Their presence simply boosted
the image and stature of Rahul amongst them.
In a tactful manner Rahul
played the Bihari identity card when he said that Bihar and Biharis in the past
were revered.But in recent times they have lost that element of sub-national
identity. In this context he assured that once the Congress government comes to
power in Delhi, Patna University would be conferred with the status of central
university. It is worth mentioning that two yearsback Modi has refused to talk
about it while on a visit to the state. (IPA
Service)
The post Rahul Makes A Good Impact In Bihar appeared first on Newspack by India Press Agency.
