Led by Priyanka Gandhi, how Congress is building its campaign in Rae Bareli

As Rahul Gandhi prepares to contest the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat for the first time, the Congress is building his campaign around the Nehru-Gandhi family’s 100-year connection to its pocket borough while conveying to voters that he will remain by their side — an attempt to counter the BJP’s accusation that the party disappears from the seat every time after coming to power.

The two-pronged strategy — “Sewa ke sau saal” (100 years of service) and “Rae Bareli ke Rahul” (Rae Bareli’s Rahul) — will soon be launched through publicity material and social media posts before Rahul begins his campaign here, said party sources.

Rahul’s sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra — who is leading the campaign in the seat held for four terms by their mother Sonia — has been setting the tone for the strategy during her appearances.

Vadra, who addressed more than 25 nukkad (street corner) meetings in the past two days in Rae Bareli’s Bachhrawan and Rae Bareli Sadar Assembly segments, has repeatedly invoked the January 7, 1921 Munshiganj massacre to show how four generations of the Nehru-Gandhi family — right from Motilal Nehru and Jawaharlal Nehru — have stood with the people of the constituency.

A Congress leader said: “The Nehru-Gandhi connection with Rae Bareli has been a century old, starting from the days of Moti Lal Nehru and Jawahar Lal Nehru, who stood with farmers during the 1921 massacre by the police. It was during the era of non-cooperation movement, when protesting farmers were shot and later Jawahar Lal Nehru was also arrested offering support to farmers.”

Priyanka narrated this incident during the very first party workers’ meeting in Rae Bareli for these polls. And in Bachhrawan on Wednesday, she said: “Hum aap ki pukar sun ke aye… Motilal ne dekha, Jawaharlal ji ne dekha… aap kheech ke laye… Chaar pushton se, chaar peediyon baad isi mein apse jude hain (We heard your call and came. Motilal and Jawaharlal came and saw what had happened. After four generations, we are still connected with you).”

To reinforce the point, Priyanka started her campaign Thursday from the Munshiganj’s Shaheed Smarak that marks the killings. The party is also using this incident to tell the story of how a farmer leader from the Pasi community stood against the British.

During her appearances, Priyanka has said that while mistakes were made, lessons were learnt too, citing the example of Indira Gandhi who was defeated from Rae Bareli but won later. Since India’s first election in 1952, Congress has held the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat for 66 of 72 years

Another Congress leader said: “This campaign narrates the story of how Congress has always stood with farmers and not the rich as it is said that the police firing had started only after a taluqdar opened fire at the protesting farmers.”

On Thursday, just a few kilometres away from a nukkad meeting by Priyanka in Bachhrawan, BJP candidate Dinesh Pratap Singh and senior party leader Suresh Chand Tiwari told workers how the Gandhi family had “left Rae Bareli and they would leave after election again”.

“It is Dinesh Pratap Singh, a local leader, who will remain with you in your good and bad days,” Tiwari said. Singh’s publicity material projects him as the “light” of Rae Bareli (main chirag hoon tumhara).

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