Priyanka Gandhi Launches Madhya Pradesh Poll Campaign With Huge Rally

Priyanka Gandhi also visited the banks of river Narmada in Jabalpur ahead of the rally.

New Delhi/Jabalpur:

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi today launched party’s campaign for the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections with a huge rally.

Ahead of the rally, Priyanka Gandhi offered prayers at the banks of the river Narmada in Jabalpur, along with state Congress chief Kamal Nath, party MP Vivek Tankha and other party leaders.

Hitting out at the BJP over alleged corruption, Ms Gandhi said, “the list of scams in Madhya Pradesh is longer than abuses mentioned by the Prime Minister.”

“What has BJP done over the last three years in the state. Can any of you say that your life has improved under the current government?” she asked.

Referring to the party’s win in the assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, Ms Gandhi said the two states have given a “befitting” reply to BJP.

“They talk about double engine and triple engine. They used to say the same in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka but public has shown them that they should stop talking about the double engine and start working,” Ms Gandhi said.

Jabalpur is at the centre of the state’s Mahakoshal region, which has a sizable number of tribal voters. The city is known as the cultural capital of the state.

Vivek Tankha said Ms Gandhi chose Jabalpur to launch the party’s poll campaign because party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra – led by Rahul Gandhi -did not pass through the region.

Madhya Pradesh, where Congress suffered a humiliating loss after a rebellious Jyotiraditya Scindia walked away with 22 party MLAs causing the fall of the 15-month-old Kamal Nath government in 2020, is a challenge for the party as most of Mr Scindia’s loyalist MLAs were comfortably re-elected from the BJP. 

The BJP has accused the Congress of pursuing “soft Hindutva” in the run-up to the crucial polls. 

Refuting the allegations, PC Sharma said, “the BJP separate Lord Rama from Sitaji, we say Jai Siyaram, they say Jai Shriram… they do politics of religion, we do politics by following religion, be it Lord Krishna, Lord Rama. They are gods of justice… What has happened in Himachal, Karnataka — God will do the same justice in Madhya Pradesh”.