Rahul Gandhi to begin Maharashtra poll campaign today from Nagpur

Nagpur: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, will begin his poll campaign for the Maharashtra Assembly elections on Wednesday in Nagpur, where he will attend a “Samvidhan Sammelan” (Conference on Constitution). 

Later in the day, Rahul Gandhi will attend a public meeting in Mumbai where the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) poll guarantees are expected to be announced.

The symbolism of choosing Nagpur is crucial as it is not just the headquarters of the RSS, the ideological parent of the BJP, but also the place where B.R. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism in 1956.

Nagpur is in the larger Vidarbha region which is of strategic importance in the battle for Maharashtra.

Of the 76 constituencies where the BJP and the Congress are engaged in a direct contest, 36 are in Vidarbha, which is the state’s cotton belt. Of all the regions in the state, the BJP has fielded the most in Vidarbha (47) and dealing it a blow here will go a long way in paving the way for the MVA’s return to power in the state.

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Vidarbha used to be a traditional Congress stronghold but the party lost its grip on it as the BJP won 44 of the 62 Assembly constituencies and the party was reduced to 10. Five years ago, the BJP’s tally fell to 29 but the Congress’s seat count rose to only 15. The party’s performance in the Lok Sabha elections, in which it won four of the 10 parliamentary seats in the region, has also given it a reason to hope.

The INDIA alliance bagged seven Lok Sabha constituencies, with only three going to the MahaYuti.

One of the major reasons attributed to the Congress and the MVA’s success was its campaign on the issues of the Constitution, reservation, and caste census. The Opposition had alleged that the BJP would pose a threat to the Constitution and the quota system if it returned to power with a bigger mandate than in 2019 when it won 303 seats overall. This resonated in Vidarbha, which has a vibrant and powerful Dalit movement and a sizable population of Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

Two of the Congress’s top leaders, including its State party President Nana Patole, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Vijay Wadettiwar, are from Vidarbha. Apart from them, the party has several powerful second-rank leaders.

On Wednesday, Gandhi will visit the Deekshabhoomi, the site where Ambedkar converted to Buddhism, and then head to the Constitution conference organised by a non-political outfit called the OBC Yuva Manch.

“The Maharashtra government was planning to introduce chapters of Manusmriti in the school curriculum. It is a bigger threat to Indian democracy. Safeguarding the Constitution, which has given rights to every Indian citizen, is our duty and the conference is organised for this aim,” said Anil Jaihind, the organiser of the programme.

“It is an apolitical event. Several organisations across the state are going to join it and the Model Code of Conduct will be observed,” said Wadettiwar.

On Wednesday evening, Gandhi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief Uddhav Thackeray, and Nationalist Congress Party (SP) President Sharad Pawar will address a “Swabhiman Sabha” in Mumbai. At the event, MVA’s poll guarantees are expected to be announced.

Farm loan waiver and caste census are likely to be among the major guarantees. The alliance could also announce a Universal Basic Income scheme to counter the Eknath Shinde government’s Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme under which Rs 1,500 is deposited in the accounts of women below the poverty line.