Campaigning in different styles

KS Tomar 

To give the much-needed fillip and impetus to the demoralised Congress leaders and workers, AICC president Rahul Gandhi gave a dose of morale booster, coupled with aggression and a message of unity (Ekta Mantra), to win all four Lok Sabha seats, which had been won by the BJP in the 2014 general elections.

Rahul Gandhi launched the election campaign from Chambi in Kanga district on March 8 and focused on national as well as state issues, which included often repeated Rafale deal, waiving off farmers' loans in the entire country, deficiencies of demonetisation and GST among others.

But the AICC president kept in mind the maximum intake of jawans and officials in the armed forces from Kangra and nearby Hamirpur districts and promised to give martyr's status to paramilitary jawans besides paying homage to Tilak Raj from Kangra, who sacrificed his life in Pulwama terror attack. He made a special reference to a large number of martyrs, who belonged to Kangra district, which was meant to strike an emotional cord.

In the style of campaigning, everyone could see a stark difference between Rahul Gandhi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had addressed party workers in Dharamsala on December 27 on the completion of one year of Jai Ram Thakur's government in the state.

As an established orator, Modi had connected with the crowd due to his old association with Himachal, which dates back to the early '90s, when he was the in-charge of the BJP affairs and toured every nook and corner of the state. He had given micro details of even local dishes and dwelt upon his reminiscences as well as personal experiences to woo the electorate.

Due to lack of such connect, Rahul gave top priority to elections, when he fiercely attacked Modi for the failure of the NDA government to fulfil tall promises made during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Rahul's family did have old emotional ties with the people of Himachal as it was Indira Gandhi, who accorded complete statehood and addressed a huge gathering on The Ridge on January 25, 1971, amid snowfall. Sonia Gandhi unfailingly made an effort to remember these old ties, but Rahul Gandhi's focus was on waiving off loans of farmers in the country and BJP's opposition to such measure thereby proving its credential as an anti-agrarian class. 

The AICC president did not spare the NDA government and the BJP for politicising airstrikes and reaffirmed the pledge of the Congress to support the Indian Air Force for its exemplary task of attacking terror camps inside Pakistan. On local issues, Rahul criticised demonetisation, which had affected small industries like handloom and handicraft among others, which were the backbone of the people of the hill state.

Six-time Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh could not attend the rally due to the marriage of his son Vikramaditya at Jaipur. But deputy leader of Congress in the Rajya Sabha, Anand Sharma, vehemently criticised Modi for cheating the innocent people in the country, whereas HPCC chief Kuldeep Rathore and Congress Legislature Party leader Mukesh Agnihotri lambasted the state government for failing to fulfil the promises made during the Assembly elections and for the complete deterioration of law and order.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, however, was quick to take a jibe on the attendance in the rally and described it as a flop show. The CM was satirical, when he said empty chairs had to be removed as there was scarcity of occupants.

Rathore, however, ridiculed the CM for undermining the importance of the rally and claimed it as a grand success. He felt the BJP was rattled with the crowd of workers, which was mobilised by all senior leaders thereby presenting  a show of unity. 

Interestingly, half a dozen ministers of the Jai Ram government skipped the Cabinet meeting to keep a tab on the rally. BJP knows the importance of organising successful rallies and the one organised by it in Kangra parliamentary constituency may have its impact on other three seats of the state.

The task of mobilising crowds at the Congress rally was primarily given to former ministers—  GS Bali, Sudhir Sharma and MLA Pawan Kajal — who hailed from Kangra district and they felt that they accomplished the task. AICC general secretary and in-charge Rajni Patil and secretary Gurkirat left no stone unturned in roping in every senior leader and their supporters to the rally. Patil checked those elements, who tried to raise slogans of individual leaders and warned to take disciplinary action against them. Patil plans to boost the morale of workers, hence more rallies of senior leaders including Priyanka Gandhi and AICC president may be organised in the state. As compared to the BJP, it may be an uphill task for the Congress to allot tickets to those who have the ability to snatch seats from the sitting MPs, who belong to the ruling party.

(Writer is senior journalist. Views are personal)