Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi is all set to give a big push to the party’s preparations for next year’s UP Assembly elections by kickstarting membership drive of the youth wing of the party next month in three regions of the state.
Mr Gandhi, who had earlier locked horns with UP chief minister Mayawati on the issue of backwardness of Bundelkhand region in the state, is also likely to re-ignite the debate over the alleged neglect of the region by the UP state government.
Though the tour plan of Mr Gandhi is still being worked out, senior leaders of the party stated that the Congress general secretary would reach out to the other backward castes (OBC) and dalit segments during the 10 days that he is likely to spend in the state in the month of March.
The membership drive of the Youth Congress was carried out last year for the central UP region. Mr Gandhi had earlier divided the Youth Congress in the state into four zones. “The membership drive for the Youth Congress will be carried out for the regions of Bundelkhand, eastern UP and western UP. The drive will continue for about a month and Mr Gandhi is likely to spearhead the campaign in the three regions for about 10 days in phased manner,” stated a senior party leader.
It may be recalled that Mr Gandhi had met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to push for a special package for Bundelkhand region, after which the Centre had committed a five-year package. However, Mr Gandhi had run into BSP supremo Mayawati over the issue of neglect of Bundelkhand region, following which the UP chief minister had accused the Centre for not cooperating the state government in the all-round development of the state.
The Congress is banking on the magic of the young Gandhi to leapfrog the party among the frontrunners in Bundelkhand where political activists have been campaigning for a separate state also. However, the Congress general secretary faces uphill task in eastern and western UP where the BSP and the SP have strong bases.