After the Kisan rally, Rahul Gandhi will now take out a ‘kisan padyatra’ to reach out to farmers in the backdrop of the agrarian crisis. As Congress is seeking to make land acquisition a major issue to arrest its sliding fortunes, Mr. Gandhi’s major public outreach plan is aimed at galvanizing the party cadres and broadening the party base among farming communities.
Sources in the party said the ‘padyatra’ could begin either from Vidarbha in Maharasthra or some district including Medak from Telangana, the two regions, which have been in the news for farmer suicides.
Mr. Gandhi will be visiting a number of districts with farmer distress in Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Punjab and Telangana.
In Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Gandhi could tavel to Bundelkhand and Easter Uttar Pradesh. While the Congress vice president had in past also taken up the issue of Bundelkhand ensuring a package for the region during the UPA government’s region, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, another region of farmer distress is bordering Bihar where polls are scheduled later this year.
When contacted, AICC Communication Department in-charge Randeep Surjewala said, “Rahul ji will be taking Kisan Padyatra in days to come. He is going to visit all states, which have recorded farmer distress. Details of his programme are yet to be finalised.”
