Rahul teaches state Congress leaders lesson to win elections

New Delhi: With elections looming in Uttarakhand next year, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has sent a strong message of unity to state Congress leaders asking them to strengthen the party rather than individuals to fight and defeat the BJP.

Rahul Gandhi has sent a strong message of unity to state Congress leaders asking them to strengthen the party rather than individuals to fight and defeat the BJP. File photo

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 25

With elections looming in Uttarakhand next year, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has sent a strong message of unity to state Congress leaders asking them to strengthen the party rather than individuals to fight and defeat the BJP.

In a poll strategy meeting Rahul held with Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat and state party chief Kishore Upadhyay here yesterday, he was learnt to have said it was critical to stop the BJP in the hill state to send a message of the Congress revival.

Referring to the Congress 2002 victory in Uttarakhand which, Rahul said, laid the ground for its 2004 General Election win, he reportedly told his colleagues, “If we can stop the BJP in Uttarakhand, we can send a strong message of the Congress recovery across India.”

Rahul underlined his comments mentioning the importance of Uttarakhand in the saffron scheme of things and spoke of why it was so important to contain the BJP in the state. His reference was to Uttarakhand’s strong upper caste base, the fact that it was home to Char Dhams and the Ganga — all elements significant to the saffron political strategy.

The meeting, also attended by Congress general secretary in charge of Uttarakhand Ambika Soni, discussed the election strategy of the party in the state and decided that Congress workers would reach every voter by the end of the year with the message of development and secularism.

“We have to fight communal forces,” was Rahul’s message to Rawat and Upadhyay who had some heartburn after the denial of a Rajya Sabha ticket to latter in June.

The Tribune has learnt that Rawat and Upadhyay have buried the hachet and will together plan a major political campaign in all five parliamentary segments of the state.

Plans are under way to hold a yatra across all Lok Sabha segments in the state where all party leaders will gather in a show of unity.

Parallel to that, the Congress in Uttarakhand will hold seminars in each district of the state.