After break, Rahul set to tour Bihar, Bengal

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After a week-long summer break in London, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi is gearing up to hit the political turf again with impending visits to the poll-bound West Bangal and Bihar. The foot soldiers of Mr Gandhi have already fanned out in the two states to prepare the ground for his visit.

While Mr Gandhi is all set to hit the Bihar turf in mid-July, his itinerary for West Bengal is still being prepared. Though Mr Gandhi’s three days tour of various parts of West Bengal is likely to be in July, senior Youth Congress leaders hinted that the tour might materialise in August as grounds are still being prepared.
In both the states, Mr Gandhi is likely to hold interactive sessions with students. “Preparations are afoot to hold interactive sessions with students in a premier institution in each of the two states. Arrangements are being made for about 1,500 students to attend the interactive sessions,” stated a senior party leader, who said that the tour in the two states would be of three days each covering various places.
The brief to the foot soldiers in the two states for the upcoming visit of Mr Gandhi is to build base among the minorities, dalits and backward castes. “We have been given the challenge to build the party infrastructure in the two states. The problem that we are facing both in West Bengal and Bihar is that we are either meeting leaders who are in their 70s or in 30s. There is a huge age gap in the grassroot leadership of the party in the two states,” added a Youth Congress leader.
While Assembly elections in Bihar are likely in October and November this year, West Bengal will go to the poll next year. “In Bihar, Mr Gandhi is likely to make a strong case for the minorities to come back to support the Congress to revive the party’s fortune in the state, with senior leaders having been pressed into service to do the ground work,” added the leader.
Mr Gandhi is likely to bank on the Youth Congress leaders to revive the party base in Bihar where the Congress has not been in power for almost two decades.