Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will address a public meeting in Gujarat’s Narmada district on Monday to mark the beginning of his campaign ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, a party leader said.
The meeting will be held in Dediapada village, which has sizeable population of tribals.
Assembly elections in the State will happen by the end of this year or early next year.
Out of 182 seats in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly, 27 seats are reserved for the scheduled tribes.
‘Sinking’ Congress, says Rupani
Ahead of Mr. Gandhi’s rally in poll-bound Gujarat, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani took a jibe at him on Sunday, saying the public meetings by the leader of the “sinking” Congress party will only benefit the BJP.
“The Congress is a sinking boat. It is a proven fact that the Congress loses election wherever they organise Rahul Gandhi’s rally. We urge the party to organise his rallies at maximum places in Gujarat during the next three months,” said Mr. Rupani, taking a dig at Rahul’s proposed rally.
Rally in tribal area
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel, who is supervising the ongoing preparations for the rally at Dediapada in Narmada district, said the event holds immense significance for his party.
“This rally is very important as it is being organised on May 1, which happens to be the foundation day of Gujarat as well as the International Labour Day. In addition, the rally is being organised in a tribal area,” Mr. Patel told reporters at Dediapada.
Mr. Patel said a large number of tribals would come to listen Mr. Gandhi on Monday.
Though the rally is seen as Congress’ exercise to regain ground in the poll-bound state, Mr. Patel insisted that the main purpose of the rally is to highlight the plight of tribal community in the State.
“It is natural for the people to link the rally with the upcoming elections, but the Congress never thinks about the political gain or loss. We only work for the people, who have been facing hardships during this 20-year of the BJP rule here. I am sure that people will elect the Congress this time” said Mr. Patel.
Do some ground work, says Rudy
Like Chief Minister Rupani, Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy, who was in Valsad on Sunday, too took a jibe at Mr. Gandhi, whom he termed as “Yuvraj“ (prince).
“The Congress has already lost its vote bank. They are in ICU after the recent poll results of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Leaders like him (Gandhi) have lost their relevance. Though he is a ‘yuvraj,’ he needs to come to the ground. The Congress leaders should do some ground work by meeting people and understand their problems,” Mr. Rudy said.
