From the Urdu Press: ‘Where is INDIA bloc in Assembly polls’, ‘Can Rahul campaign beat KCR’s?’ ‘the freebie free-for-all’

Referring to the Congress and SP going their separate ways in the Madhya Pradesh elections, the New Delhi edition of Inquilab, in its editorial on October 22, says that the INDIA grouping seems to have hit the pause button over the last few weeks. This might be a tactical move, but the complete absence of INDIA bloc from the scene of the five state polls is glaring, the daily writes. “The question is, why is the Opposition alliance not holding any joint rallies in the poll-bound states? Is any joint show of the INDIA bloc in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram not required, like its earlier events in Patna, Bengaluru and Mumbai? If these joint shows happen, it would only strengthen the alliance and boost its standing before the public.”

The editorial states that the grouping should not ignore optics and its leaders should resume their interactions. “For some time the Opposition leaders have not been seen together in public. In MP, the Congress and SP are holding separate election rallies. This would give an impression about cracks in Opposition unity,” it says. “If the INDIA alliance has been forged for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and not for the states, then this objective must be made clear publicly to dispel any misgivings, which might play into their rival’s hands.”

The daily notes that the Congress is the leading player in the non-BJP ranks in this round of polls. But even if the grand old party is in the hunt to clinch most of these states, the Opposition alliance should not be relegated to the sidelines, it says. “The point need not be repeated that the BJP’s preparations are mainly geared towards its Lok Sabha election campaign,” it says, adding that the alliance might be able to beat the BJP in the 2024 grand finale only if they fight unitedly with a common purpose. Going by the current moves and silences of its leaders, the edit asks, “Is all well with the INDIA bloc?”

Siasat

Pointing to Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Vijayabheri bus yatra’ that he undertook across Telangana to set the tone for the November 30 Assembly elections, the Hyderabad-based Siasat, in its editorial on October 21, writes that the Congress leadership has intensified its bid to return to power in the state.

The daily notes that days before the Assembly poll schedule was announced, the Congress top brass held a mega ‘Vijayabheri rally’ at Tukkuguda, which followed its Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting in Hyderabad. “Now, Rahul has wrapped up his three-day bus yatra through several constituencies in Telangana, holding roadshows, addressing rallies, and interacting with people,” the editorial says. “Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also joined Rahul on the first day of his bus yatra. However, it is evident that Rahul will spearhead the party’s campaign in the Telangana polls, with the party’s other star campaigners pitching in,” it says, adding that Rahul’s rallies are drawing crowds and that he had traversed the state during his Bharat Jodo Yatra too.

The editorial notes that Chief Minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president K Chandrashekar Rao or KCR has also hit the campaign trail, looking to retain power for the third consecutive term. “His popularity in the state cannot be denied,” it says.

As Rahul highlights the Congress’s pledges, connecting with various sections, especially youths, it is to be seen as to whose campaign will eventually make the cut, the edit says.

Roznama Rashtriya Sahara 

In its leader on October 20, the multi-edition Roznama Rashtriya Sahara writes that the five Assembly polls are witnessing a showering of freebies, sops and schemes by the leading contenders, apart from raising of polarising issues. “All the parties have joined this populism race in every poll-bound state, from Rajasthan to Mizoram, with even the BJP, which had earlier derided it as ‘revdi culture’, remaining a front-runner,” it says.

Listing the schemes announced by BJP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan in MP, as well as the Kamal Nath-led Congress as a counter, and the pledges by the Congress governments in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the edit says that in Telangana, the Congress is even promising 10 grams of gold to a bride’s family.

The edit notes that while declaring the poll schedule, the Election Commission (EC) had taken a dim view of freebies by parties just before the elections. The Supreme Court recently sought responses from MP, Rajasthan, EC and the Centre on a petition that questioned pre-election freebies being distributed out of debt-ridden state treasuries, it says. “However, what matters for the parties is to win the polls by wooing voters regardless of the point that several of their pledges might eventually remain just ‘jumlas’.”