Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, the Chief of the Opposition within the Lok Sabha, will kickstart his Maharashtra Meeting ballot marketing campaign on Wednesday morning in Nagpur, the place he’ll attend a “Samvidhan Sammelan (Convention on Structure)”.
The symbolism of selecting Nagpur is essential as it isn’t simply the headquarters of the RSS, the ideological dad or mum of the BJP, but in addition the place the place Dr B R Ambedkar transformed to Buddhism in 1956. Nagpur is within the bigger Vidarbha area that’s of strategic significance within the battle for Maharashtra. Of the 72 constituencies the place the BJP and the Congress are engaged in a direct contest, 36 are in Vidarbha, which is the state’s cotton belt. Of all of the areas within the state, the BJP has fielded essentially the most in Vidarbha (47) and dealing it a blow right here will go a good distance in paving the best way for the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) return to energy within the state.
Vidarbha was a standard Congress stronghold however the social gathering misplaced its grip on it because the BJP received 44 of the 62 Meeting constituencies and the social gathering was diminished to 10. 5 years in the past, the BJP’s tally fell to 29 however the Congress’s seat depend rose to solely 15. The social gathering’s efficiency within the Lok Sabha elections, through which it received 4 of the ten parliamentary seats within the area, has additionally given it a motive to hope. The INDIA alliance bagged seven Lok Sabha constituencies, with solely three going to the Mahayuti.
One of many main causes attributed to the Congress and the MVA’s success was its marketing campaign on the problems of Structure, reservation, and caste census. The Opposition had alleged that the BJP would pose a menace to the Structure and the quota system if it returned to energy with a much bigger mandate than in 2019, when it received 303 seats general. This resonated in Vidarbha, which has a vibrant and highly effective Dalit motion and a large inhabitants of Different Backward Lessons (OBCs).
Two of the Congress’s prime leaders, together with its state president Nana Patole and Chief of the Opposition within the state Meeting, Vijay Wadettiwar, are from Vidarbha. Aside from them, the social gathering has a number of highly effective second-rank leaders.
On Wednesday, Gandhi will go to the Deekshabhoomi, the location the place Ambedkar transformed to Buddhism, after which head to the Structure convention organised by a non-political outfit referred to as the OBC Yuva Manch.
“The Maharashtra authorities was planning to introduce chapters of Manusmriti within the faculty curriculum. It’s a larger menace to Indian democracy. Safeguarding the Structure, which has given rights to each Indian citizen, is our responsibility and the convention is organised for this purpose,” mentioned Anil Jaihind, the organiser of the programme.
“It’s an apolitical occasion. A number of organisations throughout the state are going to hitch it and the Mannequin Code of Conduct can be noticed,” mentioned Wadettiwar.
Within the night, Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, and Nationalist Congress Celebration (SP) president Sharad Pawar will deal with a “Swabhiman Sabha” in Mumbai. On the occasion, MVA’s ballot ensures are anticipated to be introduced.
Farm mortgage waiver and caste census are prone to be among the many main ensures. The alliance might additionally announce a Common Primary Earnings scheme to counter the Eknath Shinde authorities’s Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme beneath which Rs 1,500 is deposited within the accounts of ladies under the poverty line.
