New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi have set their sight on phase 2 polls and will seek votes for Congress candidates in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Kerala. Rahul Gandhi will campaign in Bihar’s Bhagalpur seat on April 20 for party nominee Ajeet Sharma and in the Satna seat in Madhya Pradesh for party candidate Siddhartha Kushwaha on April 21.
Priyanka Gandhi will seek votes in support of the party nominee in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Shashi Tharoor on April 20 and in Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon seat for party nominee Bhupesh Baghel, ex-chief minister. “Rahul Gandhi will be in Bhagalpur on April 20. Ajit Sharma is a sitting MLA and the Lok Sabha candidate from the seat which has come to us after a long gap. Rahul Gandhi’s visit will boost our campaign,” Bihar CLP leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan told ETV Bharat.
Ajit Sharma is pitted against JD-U leader and sitting MP Ajay Kumar Mandal for whom the 2024 election is a matter of prestige. The Bhagalpur seat has come to the Congress in an alliance with the RJD after a gap of 20 years and the grand old party is going all out to woo the voters. “Rahul Gandhi will campaign in Satna on April 21. We are running a strong campaign,” AICC in-charge of Madhya Pradesh Jitendra Singh told ETV Bharat.
In Satna, which has seen a traditional Congress vs BJP fight, the BSP has also joined the fray and fielded Narayan Tripathi as its candidate. Congress’ Siddhartha Kushwaha is a sitting MLA and is pitted against Ganesh Singh of the BJP, who has been winning the seat since 2004. The BSP has fielded a Brahmin candidate to counter the two OBC rivals from Congress and BJP and due to this factor, the votes of the SC have also become important in the general category seat, said party insiders.
Congress star campaigner Priyanka Gandhi will address a rally in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram for party candidate and sitting MP Shashi Tharoor on April 20. Tharoor has been winning the seat since 2009 and is pitted against BJP nominee Rajeev Chandrashekhar, a Union Minister and CPI’s Pannyan Raveendran in a triangular fight.
"Besides Thiruvananthapuram, Priyanka Gandhi will also address rallies in Chalakudy and Pathanamthitta seats," AICC secretary in-charge of Kerala P Viswanathan told ETV Bharat.
On April 21, Priyanka will address a rally in support of Rajnandgaon candidate Bhupesh Baghel, ex-chief minister of Chhattisgarh and sitting MLA from Patan. Baghel, for whom the national contest has become a prestige issue, is pitted against BJP’s sitting MP Santosh Pande. Baghel was given a ticket in the first list and has been campaigning on the ground since then covering several villages per day.
Priyanka will also address a rally in Maoist-infested Kanker on the same day where Congress nominee Biresh Thakur is pitted against BJP’s Bhojraj Nag. A slugfest has started between the Congress and the BJP after 29 Maoists were killed in an encounter with the security forces in Kanker. Ex-CM Baghel slammed the BJP for staging fake encounters while the saffron party attacked the rival for playing politics over the sensitive issue. State unit chief Deepak Baij said Baghel’s remarks were being twisted by the BJP.
Read more: Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 1: Silence Period, Seats, Candidates - Read All Facts At A Glance
