New Delhi: All eyes are on Rahul Gandhi’s Haryana election campaign as Leader of Opposition.
After becoming Leader of the Opposition (LoP), the Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir assembly polls are the first real test for Rahul Gandhi to prove that the Congress party’s improved performance in the Lok Sabha elections was not a fluke. The grand old party, leaning heavily on his campaign, is gaining momentum among the masses, especially in Haryana, where the Congress faces a direct contest with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). For the Congress, regaining power in the state is crucial.
The party is riding on renewed energy from Rahul Gandhi’s growing popularity and the anti-incumbency sentiment against the BJP government. However, Rahul Gandhi’s campaign is not only about winning votes but also about uniting the state’s party leaders, who have been divided into factions—a division that has cost them victories in states like Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
The Congress MP kicked off his campaign on Thursday with two major rallies in the Hisar and Karnal districts. In Karnal, where Rahul Gandhi held his first rally, he managed to bring together Kumari Selja and former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
The Raebareli MP is scheduled to address around eight rallies in Haryana. Along with him, his sister Priyanka Gandhi is also expected to join the campaign trail soon.
The most critical task for Rahul Gandhi will be to maintain party unity and fight the elections as a cohesive force against the powerful BJP, which is facing 10 years of anti-incumbency. Opinion polls and election surveys suggest that Congress may have the upper hand.
It will also be interesting to see which issues Rahul Gandhi raises during the assembly poll campaign. The Agniveer scheme and the BJP’s heavy-handed treatment of youth, especially the wrestlers who were dragged in Delhi, may feature prominently. The two prominent faces of the protesting wrestlers, Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat, who fought a long battle against former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh, accused of sexual harassment of wrestlers, have joined Congress. Phogat, an Olympian, is also contesting the election.
Rahul Gandhi has consistently raised concerns about the Agniveer scheme, challenging the government over it. The Congress has made its opposition to the scheme clear.
The results of the Haryana elections will also have a bearing on the upcoming Maharashtra and Jharkhand polls. Delhi’s former Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, had earlier requested the Election Commission to conduct state elections alongside those in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. If that happens, an additional election may be on the cards. Given the situation, every move by the Leader of the Opposition will be crucial for the party and its leadership.
