If the symbolism of launching his Uttar Pradesh Assembly election campaign from his great grandfather Jawahar Lal Nehru’s constituency, Phoolpur in Allahabad district, on the latter’s birthday was not enough, AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi has made sure posters for the same have pictures of him alongside Nehru.
The pictures are aimed at harking back to a time when the Congress ruled the roost in UP and larger issues of ideology and a national canvass could still swing elections. ?In the immediate post-Independence era, and for a few years after that, UP had a robust industrial base. Now we lag behind in everything. The attempt, through these posters, is to drive home the message about how far back identity politics has pushed the state,? said a source involved in the campaign.
This is a significant election for Rahul Gandhi. Till now, he has been holding ?chaupal? meetings in villages across the state to gauge the mood of the people.
On November 14, he will address a rally in Phoolpur and kick off the Congress campaign despite the fact that election dates are yet to be announced. In fact, AICC general secretary and the party in-charge for UP, Digvijay Singh, said the preparations in advance had been extended to even announcing candidates for the nearly 135 out of the 400-odd Assembly seats in the state. ?This is probably very rare for the Congress, but we want to put our best foot forward,? he said.