The Congress roadshow entered the hills of Himachal Pradesh today with AICC president Sonia Gandhi kick-starting the party’s campaign here for Lok Sabha polls. Sonia repeatedly stopped the motorcade at a number of places, mixed with people and even entered a household in Palampur to enquire about the problems the family faced, giving her security personnel a tough time. And all this on Day 1 of her roadshow. Accompanied by AICC general secretary and state in-charge Ashok Gehlot and her secretary Kumari Selja, Sonia arrived at Ghaggal Airport to a rousing reception. Clad in a brown-black salwar-kameez worn in this part of Himachal, Sonia acknowledged crowds with folded hands. She said the BJP had planned DPM L. K. Advani’s Bharat Uday Yatra primarily to counter her roadshow. Welcoming the EC’s directive asking political parties not to indulge in mud-slinging, Sonia said it was to be seen how far the EC would succeed in implementing the directive. Sonia predicted that the Congress would win all the four seats in Himachal Pradesh. From the airport, Sonia proceeded to Ichchi, a small town hundreds had gathered. She made a 10-minute halt before leaving for Palampur. Sonia reached there around 1 pm to a tumultuous welcome. Many broke the barricade to get closer to Sonia. Interacting with women at Parasur, the Congress chief lifted a child and kissed him which impressed the people. An hour later, she left for Baijnath. Local Congress leaders felt that Sonia’s interaction with people and party ranks would decidedly infuse a new life into the election campaign. But some felt that elections being 70 days away, Sonia’s visit should have been planned later. Sonia addressed another meeting in Mandi. Here, she blamed the NDA Government of ignoring the farmers and paying little attention to the problem of unemployment. She thanked the people of Himachal for giving the Congress a chance to from a government in the state. She sought their indulgence and support in the forthcoming Lok sabha elections also. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, Power Minister and HPCC chief Vidya Stokes, AICC spokesperson Anand Sharma and several other ministers also travelled with the Congress chief.
