Fight polls unitedly if Congress is to win: Rahul Gandhi to state leaders
New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi did some plain speaking on Saturday as he slammed infighting among Congress leaders and asked them to maintain unity during his first meeting with state leaders after being formally assigned to lead the party's campaign for Lok Sabha polls.
"There may be differences among you on certain issues but you have to fight the polls unitedly to ensure the party's victory," Rahul, the Congress Vice-President, said at the meeting with PCC chiefs and AICC delegates.
During his interaction with leaders from Madhya Pradesh, where Congress suffered a humiliating defeat, Rahul said he knows that the party "lost due to infighting among senior leaders".
Rahul separately met AICC delegates from each state and sought to learn of the issues which are likely to be prominent for the Lok Sabha polls.
He also sought to find out about the strength of the Congress organisation in each of the states. Rahul was also told by leaders from some states, including Chhattisgarh, that those constantly creating trouble within should be thrown out of the party.
Delegates from Uttar Pradesh complained to Rahul that central ministers remained mostly inaccessible to them but, when available, did not do their work.
Some delegates urged Rahul to go for a roadshow on the lines of those undertaken by Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi to connect with the ordinary party workers.
Meanwhile, with the focus now on finding new allies for the party ahead of the upcoming general elections, he also made it clear during his interaction with leaders from Bihar that any alliance would be formalised keeping in mind the party's interests.
If a respectable number of seats was not offered to Congress, it may even go it alone for the polls in the state in question, he added.
Congress had fought the 2009 Lok Sabha elections alone after breaking off from an alliance with RJD and LJP.
The party had followed that course after it was offered only three seats by RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav. Congress, on its own, had then won two seats while RJD could muster four seats out of the 28 contested.
LJP had failed to open its account on the 12 seats it fought. In that regard, a member from Jammu and Kashmir said that Congress should fight the elections on its own and not as part of an alliance with National Conference.
With a view to declaring its candidates as early as possible, Congress is all set to begin its ticket distribution exercise for Lok Sabha polls by holding meetings of the newly set up screening committees.
The party could announce its first list of candidates as early as in the first or second week of February with the meetings of the screening committees to begin this month.
A number of meetings of the party's panel on alliances, manifesto and campaign strategy have already been held and some quick decisions on these matters are expected soon.
Rahul's consultations with the chiefs of Pradesh Congress Committees and District Congress Committees are also aimed at incorporating their views and suggestions ahead of Lok Sabha polls.
Rahul met leaders of each state for about 15 to 30 minutes. Some state leaders pointed out that the party's stand on corruption was somewhat compromised when it aligned with the "tainted" Shibu Soren's JMM in Jharkhand and said that similar was the record of the chiefs of some of the other parties whom Congress had approached for an alliance.
A Congress district head from Jharkhand said that when the party finalises its seats for each state, it should focus on the areas where it has a chance of winning.
When leaders from Gujarat stated that Congress was spending a pittance on publicity as compared to BJP, Rahul said that party workers should compensate for that by themselves publicising the achievements and programmes of the UPA government.
"Rahul heard the concerns of the party workers and focussed on organising them for the battle ahead," an AICC release said.
He met the leaders of three-four states together in batches with two-three leaders from each state being given an opportunity to express their views.
Rahul asked the party leaders to take on issues which affected the people in their respective states.
"Pan out in villages, blocks and districts. Work with a missionary spirit. Go to the grassroots and remain united," Rahul said.
"We must fight with unity, focussing on the strengths of our party and the good work we have done over the last 10 years," a party release quoted Rahul as saying.
Addressing the AICC meeting on Friday, which saw Congress pass the baton of leadership to him for the upcoming general elections, Rahul had sought to enthuse the party cadre for the Lok Sabha polls while giving an indication of a likely change in the party's style of functioning.
Rahul also met Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Partap Singh Bajwa along with MPs and MLAs and asked them to fight unitedly for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. He briefed them about the national issues to be taken up for the elections and asked PPCC leaders to highlight the failures of the SAD-BJP government in Punjab.
He also asked PPCC leaders to highlight the achievements of the UPA government at the Centre. Meanwhile, Bajwa also demanded a special industrial package for the border districts of Punjab on the lines of that which had been extended to the hilly states, saying that the border areas of Punjab were lacking in development.
Bajwa added that that members of the newly constituted PPCC were united on all issues. He said that the anti- incumbency factor was very strong in Punjab and the people were fed up with the policies of the SAD-BJP government.
Accusing Punjab ministers of embezzling funds sent by the Centre, Bajwa said that corruption in government and emergence of sand and drug mafia had become major hindrances to progress in the state. He assured Rahul that PPCC would launch a more intensive agitation against the SAD-BJP government with the aim of forcing it to order a CBI inquiry against the drug racket in the state.
Rahul also asked party leaders not to shy away from highlighting any misdeeds of the Congress-supported AAP government in Delhi and directed them to raise issues aggressively in Delhi ahead of next Lok Sabha polls.
He told party leaders from the state that Congress had supported AAP in forming the government as it wanted to protect the people of Delhi from the burden of another elections.
After Rahul's interaction with Delhi Congress leaders at the AICC meet, there were indications from state leaders that they will protest vociferously against Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti, who faces allegations of forcibly detaining and threatening four Ugandan women.
Sources said that Delhi Congress workers are to hold a demonstration against the Law Minster demanding his arrest. Mocking opposition BJP and the new arrival on the political scene, AAP, Rahul had yesterday said that these parties were making false promises to people which was akin to selling combs to the bald or promising them a haircut.
The party had earlier also snubbed Bharti, when a controversy had broken out over his indictment by a court for illegally helping an accused in a corruption case, and asked Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to "walk the talk" on issues of graft.
Next: To get message across to Cong leaders, Rahul uses 'horse sense'
To get message across to Cong leaders, Rahul uses 'horse sense'
New Delhi, Jan 18 (PTI) Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi's day-long interaction with Congress leaders from the various states to discuss the Lok Sabha poll strategy was not without its share of lighter moments.
"There are two types of horses, one that are employed for races, and others that are used for marriage processions. Our problem is that we sometimes use one type for the other type of work," he told delegates from Maharashtra.
The delegates included Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and Maharashtra PCC Chief Manikrao Thakre.
At another point, when he asked the Buldhana district Congress chief to frankly tell him about the faults in the organisation in order that those may be rectified, the leader from Maharashtra told him plainly that if he did so, all the delegates present would become his enemies.
Although Rahul appeared satisfied with the functioning of the organisation, a woman delegate said she wanted the PCC chief to be a party member from the fairer sex.
When a leader from Haryana told him about the good work done there by the Congress government led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Rahul reminded him that it was not enough as good work was also done by the Delhi government under Sheila Dikshit, which was voted out of power in one of the worst-ever drubbings for the party.
"We need to take all sections together," he emphasised while making it plain that the party had lost in Madhya Pradesh mainly due to "infighting" among the top leaders. Incidentally, the party unit in Haryana is said to be riven with intense factionalism.
Delegates from Gujarat wanted the party to allow a say to grassroots workers in the selection of candidates.
With Kerala awaiting a new PCC chief after Ramesh Chennithala was made a minister, Rahul asked the delegates as to what type of president they wanted.
After the day-long interaction, Rahul held a meeting with the Congress general secretaries.
