Youth Cong meet — `A trial of strength’

The leaders in their speeches rapped the alleged failure of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on different fronts and highlighted the role of the Youth Congress workers in protesting against various crisis pertaining to inflation and shortage of vegetables, salt and edible oil witnessed in the past.

They also exhorted the workers to work unitedly to defeat the “communal forces” of BJP in the poll in the two Lok Sabha seats — Vadodara and Chhotaudepur — in the district.

The leaders plan similar meetings at all the Assembly segments level in the district during the next few days to “unite the youths and strengthen their forces against the BJP.”

Meanwhile, sources in the party claimed that the meet symbolised an attempt by Youth Congress members to project Gaekwad as the party candidate for the Vadodara Parliamentary seat. Slogans such as “Gaekwad tum aage badho, hum tumhare saath hain” and “Baroda ka MP kaisa ho, Satyajitsinh jaisa ho” were raised by several leaders, during the meeting.

Said a senior party leader on conditions of anonymity.“Since several similar programmes were already being organised in the rural as well as urban parts of Vadodara to project another ticket aspirant Urmila Patel, it was an attempt from Gaekwad’s lobby to bag the party ticket.”

But, talking to Express Newsline, Gaekwad claimed that he was only mobilising the youths of the city in view of the forthcoming polls. “Ticket or no ticket, I and my supporters would show the communal forces the door. Nonetheless, the party should give me the ticket for the simple fact that the party workers want me to represent them,” he said.

Even City Youth Congress secretary Narendra Chauhan, said that the party could not afford to go to polls without Satyajitsinh as the candidate.”