Rahul Gandhi road shows to hit UP from Nov 1

NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi is likely to hit the campaign trail in Uttar Pradesh from November 1 with road shows and mass-contact programmes. The five-phase blitzkrieg would be the focus of the party's charge on Mayawati's turf where stakes for the April polls are high for the fortunes of Congress and its heir apparent.

The party is likely to target BSP and BJP while not being too harsh on SP. The sentiment of members at the campaign committee meeting on Wednesday suggested that the party would like to leave the door open for a post-poll tie-up. Congress will hold a meeting of candidates on November 16 to seek their views on campaign strategy while a sub-committee will decide on celebrities required for the campaign.

Sources said Rahul was unlikely to hold rallies but would touch voters through road travel and public contact programmes. Alongside, Congress would carpet bomb UP though press conferences of Union ministers who would give details of central funds to highlight the Mayawati regime's failure.

The Congress campaign comes when Mayawati has already pitched her trusted lieutenants on field duty and SP's Akhilesh Yadav is on his 'kranti rath' to mobilize voters. The four-way opposition split with Congress and BJP as marginal forces has raised prospects of a keen battle. Congress is trying for alliance with RLD in western UP.

That Congress fancies its chances in the state where it was reduced to an also-ran post-Babri was evident when committee chairman Sriprakash Jaiswal underlined that the party had started preparations early this time unlike in the past when campaign panels were announced after poll notification.

Rahul's mission 2012 has turned into a challenge in the wake of Anna Hazare's anti-Congress campaign.

Members stressed on the Muslim factor. Zafar Naqvi pointed to the need to spread awareness about central schemes targetting minorities. P L Punia said UP incharge Digvijay Singh's attacks on Hazare's RSS links were pleasing Muslims but the latter would vote on issues and demanded action on Rangnath Misra commission report seeking quota for Muslims on par with SCs.

Raj Babbar argued the need for Congress to tell people that "other parties" had ruled UP for 20 years and were thus responsible for its slide.

Punia stressed on the need for game-changers like MGNREGA and loan waiver, and demanded food law to be brought in the winter session. He said Hazare should have been neutralized in monsoon session itself with quick action on Lokpal bill.