Party means business in state: Congress

According to party leaders,the mobilisation is not just for short-term gains,but to send out a message that the party meant business when it claimed that it had the answer to the state’s problems.

The preparation for the upcoming elections is in stark contrast to the four by-elections,which was held in August,when the Congress candidates were left on their own.

The Congress lost all the seats and the party leaders realised that the momentum created by the good show in the Lok Sabha election will have to be maintained if the party wanted to fulfill Rahul Gandhi’s “Mission 2012”.

Now,the union ministers and parliamentarians are assuring the voters that they “will try to do their best from Delhi”,and that they should elect a Congress government in the next Assembly elections to bring an end to the “20-year-old misrule” in the state by the non-Congress governments.

Union Ministers like Salman Khursheed,Pradeep Jain,Jitin Prasada and Rahul Gandhi spoke on similar lines during the campaigning.

“It is not a hidden fact that we are putting additional force in this election. We plan to make use of these by-elections to instill confidence within the people in our leadership,” said a senior party leader.

“We are also trying to make the people realise that if the union ministers can come to listen to their problems from Delhi,then the party will certainly do better if the Congress is elected in the state,” added the leader.

Rita Bahuguna Joshi,state party president,echoed the views. “We are not predicting any numbers in these by-elections. But following our efforts,we are confident of diverting a large share of votes towards us,irrespective of caste or creed,” said Joshi.

Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Jitin Prasada is aggressively campaigning for the Powayan seat in Sahajahanpur. Union Minister of State for Rural Development Pradeep Jain is campaigning in Jhansi and Lalitpur,while Union Minister of State for Road Transport C P N Singh is campaigning in Padrauna.

Salman Khursheed,Union Minister for Corporate Affairs and

Minority Welfare,has visited several constituencies,including Lucknow,Firozabad,Kolasla and Haiser Bazaar.

So has Azharuddin,who is attracting huge crowds everywhere. Haryana Chief Minister Bhupendra Singh Hooda will visit Firozabad on Monday.

Besides,Joshi and AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh,who is in-charge of UP,are touring all the constituencies.