Rahul Gandhi Extends Visit to Wayanad, Kerala
Following a warm reception on Saturday during his visit to his constituency Wayanad in Kerala after being reinstated as MP, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will spend another day in Kerala. He has a number of programmes planned, including the launch of a power facility at a cancer centre in Wayanad and the laying of the foundation stone for a disability management centre at a school in Kozhikode. These events are expected to give Gandhi high visibility in the state, which now welcomes him with open arms.
In his rally on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the violence in Manipur and the PM’s silence on the matter. He stated, “You took two months to destroy Manipur, but it may take five years to bring love back to Manipur. We will do this. This is the fight between the Congress and BJP.”
Gandhi also expressed his deep connection with Wayanad and said, “They don’t understand that the more they try to separate me from you, the stronger the relationship would be. The disqualification has made my relationship with Wayanad stronger.”
In other political news, the BJP and All Jharkhand Students’ Union have decided to contest the upcoming Dumri bypoll jointly under the NDA banner. This comes after the alliance partners have already chosen a joint candidate. The NDA will be meeting on Sunday to make a final decision on who will take on I.N.D.I.A’s Bebi Devi.
Bebi Devi is the wife of former JMM education minister Jagarnath Mahto, whose death prompted the bypoll. Last month, she was inducted as a minister by the Hemant Soren government. The alliance has already decided to hold a joint campaign for the by-election.
Meanwhile, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will visit Chhattisgarh to launch the party’s campaign for the upcoming Assembly polls. Kharge will attend an event of the state Congress government, ‘Bharose Ka Sammelan’, in Janjgir city, accompanied by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.
In West Bengal, BJP president J P Nadda addressed party workers and criticized the Mamata Banerjee government during a virtual address to the BJP’s Kshetriya Panchayati Raj Parishad. He compared the violence that occurred during the recent panchayat elections to Partition and mocked the TMC over the arrest of its leaders in corruption cases. Nadda also promised the party would win more than 35 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal in the upcoming elections.
Elsewhere, Haryana saw Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda addressing a farmers’ protest in Sirsa district and holding workers’ meetings at various locations. Congress leaders Randeep Surjewala, Kiran Choudhry, and Kumari Selja also held a ‘Jan Aakrosh Rally’ in Kaithal against the state BJP government.
Lastly, Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited Gujarat, where he laid the foundation stone for a BSF mooring place in Koteshwar and attended the e-inauguration of other projects. Shah hailed the BSF’s role in securing the country’s borders and promised better facilities for the jawans and their families.
In Karnataka, civil contractors in Bengaluru have become the focus of politics, possibly due to the allegation made by the Congress that the BJP receives 40% commission. This development is seen as unfavorable for the Congress in the run-up to the May 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections.
Overall, these political events and visits indicate the active nature of Indian politics and the preparations being made by different parties for upcoming elections.