AICC president Rahul Gandhi is all set to kick-start his party’s poll campaign in Telangana on Monday, months ahead of the election notification, as the elaborate programmes chalked out by the State Congress leadership indicates.
Over 14 months after Mr. Gandhi addressed a largely-attended public meeting on June 1 last year in Sangareddy, his two-day visit to the city and parts of Ranga Reddy district is seen as a clear attempt to enthuse the partymen to get into the poll mode and carry the momentum till the elections.
Going by the series of programmes finalised by TPCC, Mr. Gandhi would interact with select self help group members, industrialists and students, besides addressing a public meeting in Serilingampally constituency. The party, which suffered debacle in the twin cities and neighbouring Ranga Reddy district in the 2014 general elections, is now seems to be focussed on wooing the voters from Andhra/Rayalaseema regions of Andhra Pradesh settled in several parts of the State capital. Mr. Gandhi’s segment-specific interaction is also a strategy to make inroads into these sections, which could influence the outcome of the next polls.
The party is banking heavily on the Serilingampally meeting which it feels would turn the tide in its favour. Senior leaders admitted that the party paid a huge price for bifurcation of the State with even die-hard supporters from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions residing here preferring to vote for other parties. The party would try hard to impress the Seemandhra voters this time around, they said.
The meeting at Serilingampally would focus on highlighting the failure of the TRS government in mounting pressure on the Centre to ensure the implementation of promises made in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. TPCC president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said being a national party, Congress cannot do injustice to the other State. Therefore, it had announced Special Category Status for A.P.
He said the Congress party would re-assure support and protection to people hailing from Seemandhra region living in Hyderabad. He said they would also be given prominence in ticket allocation for Assembly and Lok Sabha.
Terming Mr. Rahul Gandhi’s visit as a ‘historic one’, Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy said the tour would turn the political atmosphere in favour of the Congress as several sections were unhappy with the TRS rule. “The Congress president will not only expose the failures of the TRS and BJP regimes, but will highlight the Congress party’s plans to change the situation. Unlike in the past, we did not focus on mobilising a large number of people for one big public meeting. Instead, we are organising interactive meetings with select groups wherein Mr. Rahul Gandhi can deliver a specific message to them,” he said.
Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the Congress president would highlight the issues concerning women of Telangana, who had remained neglected under the TRS regime during the interaction with SHG members. Mr. Gandhi would focus on exposing how Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and his government cheated the youth and students at his meeting at Saroornagar Stadium, which is expected to witness a good turnout of students and unemployed youth.
Meanwhile, elaborate arrangements have been made to make Mr. Gandhi’s visit a grand success. The TPCC chief along with AICC in-charge of Telangana R.C. Khuntia and others reviewed the arrangements.
Flexi banners of Mr. Rahul Gandhi and other leaders and welcome arches have sprung up all along the road from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport to the city.
