Rahul blows poll bugle in Chhattisgarh

Raipur, January 29

After interacting with elected party functionaries in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi blew poll bugle in Chhattisgarh by exhorting party cadres to post victory in all 11 seats of State at Raipur on Wednesday. During his three hour stint in State capital, Gandhi, spearhead of the Congress campaign, not only held close-door talks with party’s elected public representatives and office-bearers at State, district, block and panchayat levels but also addressed workers at Budhapara-based indoor stadium.

In his address, referring to the party’s drubbing in State in recent assembly polls, he said the workers should not feel dispirited as they did well and posed tough challenge to BJP. “We lost, but we fought well. Now, there is more challenging task ahead – the general elections and we have capability to win cent percent seats. We will have to ensure that BJP may not get even single seat this time,” he added.

He said no political party, not even BJP, had gut to wipe out Congress and the one who tried to do so exist no more at present.

Terming MNREGA, RTI, RTE, food security act, Aadhar card, etc as major weapons of Congress-led UPA government to relate to people, he said it was responsibility of the workers to extensively propagate such provisions in rural and urban areas.

He said the partymen should also take Congress ideology to each and every house so that people may know what the party gave to the country in past 60 years or so. He said he consider workers as most important people of the party, not senior leaders or ministers.

He promised that every worker would have his say and get a heedful ear in the party after Lok Sabha polls. He said he would make a sea change in the party after winning upcoming LS polls and ensure workers’ voice reach to high command.

Sharing his next five year mission, Gandhi said the party aimed to uplift lower middle class of the country. “There are about 70 crore people who belong to this section. These people are between poor and middle class. These people are carpenters, masons, taxi drivers, etc. While we will continue helping the poor, we will strengthen the lower middle class section and ensure their status upgrades to middle class,” he added.

During his interaction with selected party functionaries he sought their opinion on poll manifesto and suitable poll candidates from Chhattisagrh.