The Return of Rahul: Congress suddenly reminded of its opposition status

Rahul Gandhi’s return to the prominence yesterday has triggered innumerable curious questions related to Rahul’s past few days and Congress’ future. It seems Sonia Gandhi was waiting for this day and has signalled a comeback plan.

As per a news report by The Economic Times, Congress game plan involves focussing the party as one that will fight for farmers and paint BJP as a ruling party that shows little concern about India's largest occupational group.
The land Bill agitation rally announced earlier and to be held at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan this Sunday, April 19, will be turned into a launch pad for "a big event to boost cadre morale and recapture the space of the principal opposition party", a top Congress leader told the ET.


"The drift in the Congress disappeared with Rahul Gandhi's disappearance. Hope it doesn't reappear now that he is back," a former Union minister said. Rahul will be briefed on the Congress plan on Friday by Digvijaya Singh, another Congress leader told the financial daily.

Sonia has also sent down the message that some Congress heavyweights, who have traditionally been faction fighters, must bury all differences and work together. One party leader said Ashok Gehlot has been asked to work with Sachin Pilot in Rajasthan. Similarly, in Madhya Pradesh, Digvijaya Singh, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Kamal Nath have been asked to cooperate. As have been BS Hooda and Ashok Tanwar in Haryana.

Congress chiefs of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have been asked to bring in crowds. The chief ministers of all the nine Congress-ruled states would also be present as would be Congress leaders.

A group of senior leaders led by AK Antony and Digvijaya Singh, Mukul Wasnik, BS Hooda and Ashok Gehlot have been given key responsibilities. "A quota has been allotted to each state. The idea is to get as many of our people from different parts so that the message is evenly spread," the leader quoted earlier told the ET.

The party also felt that merely focussing on the land Bill would limit its appeal to only land-owning farmers. But revival of farmer suicide, especially in battleground states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and crop losses are resulting in growing resentment in rural India.

(Image: Reuters)

Congress hopes it could be a beneficiary of this resentment. The party would focus on those affected worst -- sugarcane, cotton, paddy, wheat, and potato farmers. "The idea is to show that BJP's government is inherently antifarmer," a top leader involved in the planning said. The party hopes the "anti-farmer" tag will stick to BJP and would take off from its protests on the land Bill.