Congressional leader and former party chief Rahul Gandhi is likely to address six election rallies as part of the party’s election campaign in Bihar.
Bihar Pradesh Congressional Committee (BPCC) head Madan Mohan Jha said Gandhi is scheduled to launch his campaign for party nominees in Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur and Hisua in Nawada on October 23.
“So far, Rahul Gandhi has given his consent to address six rallies, two each in the three-phase elections. More demonstrations can be planned if the situation arises, ”said Jha.
The demonstration by the former head of Congress will coincide with the schedule of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is also scheduled to begin his public address for the assembly elections, whose voting will begin on October 28. The BJP had planned as many as 12 demonstrations by Prime Minister Modi during the elections for the NDA candidates in Bihar.
Jha said the time and place for Gandhi’s next round of public speaking would be decided later. It is believed that RJD leader and the main ministerial face of the Grand Alliance (GA) Tejashwi Prasad Yadav may share the stage with the leader of Congress. However, it is still unclear whether AICC secretary general Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will also address the election meetings in Bihar.
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Congress has put up to 70 candidates in the fray for the three-phase elections in Bihar. This is the maximum number of seats that the party managed to contest after 2005. In the November 2005 elections, the Congress won 51 seats to contest in alliance with the RJD and 41 during the last elections to the assembly under the GA, which then it also consisted of JD (U).
Former director of the AN Sinha social studies institute, DM Diwakar, said that the issues raised by the top leaders were more than the number of demonstrations during the elections. “Prime Minister Modi had addressed 31 demonstrations during the 2015 assembly elections, which were more than twice attended by the President of Congress, Sonia Gandhi. Still, the BJP had to be content with only 53 seats, ”Diwakar said.
Diwakar added that people are not taking Prime Minister Modi’s rhetoric very seriously now. “You rarely see Modi talking about serious issues such as the state of the economy, which is in shambles, or about the reduction of jobs, the auction of public sector companies, the measures to overcome the social impact of the closure, health and education, among other pressing issues. The anti-concern is there against the dispensation led by Nitish Kumar. The GA can capitalize on the problems faced by the people of Bihar, ”he added.
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