Rahul yatra in UP may consolidate Cong base

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In the last parliamentary polls, AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi was credited with reviving the Congress in Uttar Pradesh. Of the 80 Parliamentary seats, the Congress secured 22 berths. With the state Assembly polls approaching, Mr Gandhi has once again embarked on a journey to consolidate his party’s base in UP.
This time it’s the farmers’ votebank Mr Gandhi-led Congress is targeting. The farmers’ agitation at Bhatta Parasaul gave the party adequate ground to trigger its war against the Mayawati-led BSP. The 70 kilometre padayatra, carried out by Mr Gandhi was the kick off point, a Congress functionary said. Western UP, known to be a BSP citadel, is being invaded by Mr Gandhi. Moreover, a Congress leader said that the impact of Mr Gandhi’s move to take up the land acquisition issue would be “far reaching, since the policies impact farmers in the entire state.”
Speaking to this newspaper, another Congress functionary felt that the “ farmers in the state are now identifying themselves with Mr Gandhi as his four days tour clearly saw the UP administration getting worried.” He pointed out that the issue of forcible land acquisition “is also relevant in eastern UP”. Therefore, he claimed that Mr Gandhi’s “campaign can position the Congress well in these two regions where the party is somewhat weak”. So far, it’s Congress led by Mr Gandhi which has taken the lead in holding up farmers’ interest. The Congress is now all set to step up its mass contact campaign in the state, sources said.
The farmers, during Mr Gandhi’s recent padayatra, have also urged him to visit Badal village, the native place of the UP chief minister Mayawati. It was being alleged even the farmers at this village were hit by the “forcible land acquisition”.
At this juncture, Congress’ proactive role in UP has put the BJP and SP on the backfoot.
While Mr Gandhi’s campaign gave the Congress much needed boost and following the nationwide publicity, the SP’s recently held agitation virtually went unnoticed. The BJP’s condition in the state was supposed to be the worst. “Unable to find any leader to rejig the outfit, we are now back to Uma Bharati and worn out mandir-masjeed politics,” a BJP functionary complained. The BJP chief Nitin Gadkari is accused by some of his own partymen as “clueless about UP”.