The Congress hopes that winds of change in Uttar Pradesh will blow from Purvanchal. The party plans to implement its revival plans from eastern UP which remains steeped in backwardness and two-day UPCC convention in Varanasi is an important part of the party’s game plan.
The Congress has already set the mood for the next Assembly elections by opting for a direct confrontation with the Mayawati government.
The issue of farmers’ land acquisition, ignited by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in Greater Noida, will now be raised in eastern UP where a similar problem lies along the Ballia-Noida Ganga expressway.
“Bhatta Parsaul is equally relevant in eastern UP because farmers here have been made to part with their land for the Ganga Expressway and there is no plan for their rehabilitation. That is what Mr Gandhi meant when he said that we will fight from every village in Uttar Pradesh,” said a senior party leader on Thursday.
Out of the total 20 seats in UP Assembly, the Congress, at present, has four seats in Purvanchal.
While the party’s performance in Purvanchal may not have been satisfactory in the 2007 Assembly elections, the fact that the Congress won 10 Lok Sabha seats from this region in 2009 has sent its spirits soaring.
“It is clear that we are regaining lost ground in Purvanchal and hope to further consolidate our presence in the region and improve the tally in the next assembly elections,” the party leader added.
A beginning was made, earlier this year, when senior Congress leaders led a delegation of weavers from Purvanchal to the Prime Minister who gave them an assurance about waiving off loans.
The Central government is believed to be preparing a broader package for revival of the handloom industry with UP in focus.
In April, the Congress held a “Parivartan Rally” in Basti in which the sale of sugar mills in the region and the depleting employment opportunities was the focal issue.
Clearly, the Congress wants to blame the non-Congress governments in UP for the continued backwardness of the region by organizing more rallies in Purvanchal in the coming months.
“The sun rises in the east and the Congress, this time, will also rise from the east. The people of Purvanchal are fed up of caste-based and communal politics and are yearning to get on to the tracks of development,” the party leader said.
Interestingly, the UPCC convention has also adopted a resolution supporting the creation of smaller states (read Purvanchal) and urged the Centre to set up a second State Reorganisation Commission. The party also supports the demand to include Bhojpuri in the eighth schedule. Both these issues have been pending in Purvanchal since long.