Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 6
As the fifth phase elections concluded today, the Congress kept its chip up hoping to make major gains across the Hindi heartland states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar where the party had hit rock bottom in the 2014 General Election.
The Congress is defending only four seats in today's polls — Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's Amethi and his mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi's constituency of Rae Bareli in UP where 14 segments of the crucial Eastern belt went to polls today and two seats — Ajmer and Alwar in Rajasthan.
At test today will be the charisma of AICC general secretary incharge of Eastern UP and Rahul's sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who was launched in party politics this January with an aim to boost the Congress chances ahead of the polls. Priyanka campaigned aggressively across the Eastern UP belt undertaking her famous boat ride across the Ganga to tap into the “Nishad” electorate. Also, she was the chief campaigner in Rae Bareli and Amethi.
In Amethi especially, Priyanka’s political suave will be put to test as she openly took on Rahul’s challenger and Union minister Smriti Irani accusing the latter of attempting to bribe the locals.
In Rae Bareli too, where Sonia visited once apart from the day when she went to file her nominations — Priyanka was handling the Congress canvassing, playing on local emotions and pride and recalling the long association the two constituencies had with the Gandhi family. Priyanka also campaigned outside of Amethi and Rae Bareli for the other candidates.
In Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh where 12 and seven constituencies, respectively, witnessed elections today, the Congress is riding on its recent electoral successes to repeat victory. After the 2014 LS polls in which the BJP had swept Rajasthan's 25 LS seats, the Congress had wrested Ajmer and Alwar back in bypolls. In MP too, all seven seats where polling was held today are with the BJP.
Cong petitions poll panel against Modi
- The Congress on Monday petitioned the Election Commission against PM Modi’s ‘Bofors’ jibe against his predecessor Rajiv Gandhi and sought action for poll code violation of the Model Code of Conduct
- Hitting at the Congress, Arun Jaitley tweeted: “The Cong and its chief can call an honest PM 'Chor'. No Model Code of Conduct is preventing that. If the PM calls the Cong legacy as 'Corrupt No. 1', the Cong complains that the Model Code of Conduct is violated. Are there two Model Codes of Conduct?”
from The Tribune http://bit.ly/2LtyA6N
via Today’s News Headlines
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