New Delhi: The INDIA bloc will sound the poll bugle from Mumbai on March 17 with a promise to bring about change in the country. The opposition show of strength will come a day after the Election Commission of India will announce the schedule to elect 543 members to the new Lok Sabha on Saturday.
The poll schedule is likely to be spread over several phases during April-May. The results would be out around the third week of May.
According to Congress insiders, the grand old party’s key slogan for the coming electoral battle would be “Haath Badlega Haalat” meaning the hand (poll symbol of the Congress) will bring about change in the country.
As most of the INDIA bloc is committed to be the part of that change process, several key regional leaders like Sharad Pawar of NCP Sharadchandra Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray of Shiv Sena UBT, Akhilesh Yadav of Samajwadi Party, Tejaswi Yadav of Rashtriya Janata Dal, MK Stalin of DMK, Saurabh Bharadwaj of Aam Aadmi Party, Dipankar Bhattacharya of CPI-ML and Farooq Abdullah of National Conference are expected to attend the Mumbai rally, which marks the culmination of Rahul Gandhi’s nationwide Bharat Nyay yatra.
“The yatra will end on Saturday at Dharavi but the concluding event is at Shivaji Park on Sunday. We expect a big opposition show of strength tomorrow,” AICC secretary in charge of Maharashtra Ashish Dua told ETV Bharat.
According to the Congress leader, the Congress’ main poll campaign slogan and the yatra’s central theme are built around the same idea of social justice.
“Rahul Gandhi has been highlighting how key segments of society have suffered during the BJP rule. He has all through the yatra promised ways in which the Congress would resolve those problems. All our allies also share the same views and have been articulating them at their own level. On Sunday, the alliance will send a message to the people that we are together, are committed to bringing about change and are capable of achieving that objective,” said Dua.
According to the AICC functionary, over the coming days the grand old party’s campaign both on social media and on ground will publicize the message of change across the country.
“Social justice for youth, women, farmers and addressing aspirations of people is the main focus of the party. The state units have been talking about the ideas for a while now but a cohesive national campaign will roll out over the coming days. We will try to reach every household,” said Dua.
According to AICC secretary in charge of Gujarat BM Sandeep Kumar, the Congress has announced candidates on around 80/543 Lok Sabha seats and will clear nominees on the remaining ones soon.
“Besides campaign, the focus is also on the completing the alliances in remaining states,” he said, adding, “The party manifesto would also list the various promises besides the party’s commitment on addressing other key issues like border security, education, healthcare, revitalizing the economy, ensuring equitable and inclusive economic growth and protecting the integrity of Constitutional institutions.”
According to party insiders, more Mumbai-like joint INDIA block rallies will be planned for other key locations across the country over the coming weeks to amplify the message of change.
