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The Congress, still bruised by its shocking defeat in Haryana, is hopeful of undoing that debacle by winning the second largest state in India and wants to replicate its Lok Sabha success
Congress leader and LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi speaks during ‘Constitution Samman Sammelan’, in Kolhapur. (Image: PTI)
A little more than 24 hours left for polling in Maharashtra, political parties are applying every trick in the book to ensure a win. The Congress, still bruised by its shocking defeat in Haryana, is hopeful of undoing that debacle by winning the second largest state in India. It wants to replicate what it thinks clicked for it during the Lok Sabha elections.
What shocked the BJP was its poor performance in Marathwada and parts of Vidarbha regions. Its calculation is that it was hurt by two factors: one, that it could not beat the effect of the message – ‘Samvidhan khatre mein hai’ – by the Congress. The copies of the Constitution held by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi only added to this traction.
The BJP, of course, is taking no chances this time. This is why Union minister Kiren Rijiju was made to campaign against this narrative in the Buddhist belt, which follows Father of the Constitution BR Ambedkar.
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But, in a caste-obsessed state like Maharashtra, the other narrative that worked for the INDIA bloc during the general elections was reservation. Gandhi has made caste survey and reservation his fulcrum. So much so, that he has gone to the extent of saying he will ensure that the 50 per cent cap is breached and more reservation granted.
This has been used by the BJP, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to make the point that the Congress MP is keen on ending reservation. But, the Gandhi scion used his press conference on the last day of campaigning to undo this perception, in the hope that what worked during the Lok Sabha polls will help him now as well.
“I am committed to ensure that a caste survey is done. This will ensure and reveal the exact number of people belonging to different castes,” he said, adding that Modi was lying when he suggested that he wanted to end reservation.
But some cynics feel that what may have clicked during Lok Sabha may not in the assembly polls. But, the Congress as well as Rahul Gandhi do not want to take any chances.
