Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday rolled out a slew of poll promises for the people of Gujarat and expressed confidence that the party will win the Assembly elections scheduled to be held in the state later this year.
Addressing the ‘Parivartan Sankalp Rally’ in Ahmedabad today, Rahul announced several measures that Congress will implement if it forms government in the state. Prominent among these are loan waivers of up to Rs 3 lakh for farmers, 300 units of free electricity, LPG cylinders at Rs 500 each, 10 lakh new jobs, unemployment allowance of Rs 3000 and free education for girls, among others.
“We will work for the people of Gujarat, not for 2-3 ‘friends’ like the BJP. This is our resolve and the people of Gujarat will make Congress win,” Rahul said, announcing the measures.
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The former Congress president, who is visiting Gujarat two days ahead of the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, arguably the biggest mass contact programme any the Congress leader has undertaken, also slammed the BJP-ruled government for turning the state into a “centre of drugs trade”.
“Gujarat has become the centre of drugs trade. All drugs are moved from Mundra port but your government doesn’t take any action. This is the Gujarat model,” Rahul said, addressing the rally.
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Rahul Gandhi’s visit to the state comes in the backdrop of a mounting challenge in the form of the Aam Aadmi Party which will mark its debut in the elections. While farm loans and unemployment allowances have featured regularly on the Congress’ poll manifestos over the last few years, the promise of free electricity and the focus on schools and free education appears to have been made with the AAP’s challenge in mind.
Since its inception in November 2012, the AAP has managed to dethrone the Congress from power in Delhi in 2015 and Punjab, in 2022.