The Hindu : Rahul campaigns in Rae Bareli

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 31, 2004

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National

Rahul campaigns in Rae Bareli

By Anita Joshua

RAE BARELI, MARCH 30. After making it clear on Monday that he had entered politics to stay, the Congress candidate for the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency, Rahul Gandhi, said today that he would also nurse the Rae Bareli and Sultanpur parliamentary segments held by the Nehru-Gandhi family in the past.

As a first step in this direction, Mr. Gandhi spent a considerable part of the day in Rae Bareli from where his mother and Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, is contesting the Lok Sabha elections.

Though his two-day visit to Amethi — with Rae Bareli packed in — was aimed at giving the first-time candidate an opportunity to meet party workers, it also doubled as a "road show" with people lining along his route.

On his way back to Lucknow via Rae Bareli, he stopped at several points to interact with the young and the old and also offered prayers at the temples frequented by the family. He drew the same kind of enthusiastic response as in Amethi though this constituency, held by the former Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, had not been represented by a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family for close to 20 years.

In his maiden speech outside the soon-to-be-shut-down ITI complex here, the 33-year-old leader thanked the people of the two constituencies for their "overwhelming welcome. He said: "We are aware of your problems; leave it to us." Then he endeared himself to the large gathering — many of whom were agitating against the imminent closure of ITI — "I am in a hurry today. If I do not leave today, I will miss my flight," he said flashing a smile.

Earlier, prior to leaving his guesthouse at Munshiganj in Amethi, Mr. Gandhi told partyworkers that he had not come there for votes; he would nurse all the three constituencies — Amethi, Rae Bareli and Sultanpur. He sought their views on how much time he ought to spend campaigning this time round in Amethi.

According to a member of the Seva Dal, Raj Narain Yadav, the workers told him to campaign elsewhere and spend no more than a couple of days in Amethi.

"We told Rahulji that Amethi was his whether he campaigned or not. But, he asked us not to be complacent and work here as if he were going to be defeated in this election. We told him his services are needed by the party elsewhere," the Seva Dal workers said in a chorus after their morning meeting with Mr. Gandhi.

As for Rae Bareli, people maintained that Ms. Gandhi would win by an "impressive margin" despite the Samajwadi Party putting up a strong candidate against her. "We want Soniaji to represent us... look at what she has done for Amethi," said a resident as Mr. Gandhi's motorcade drove by. In Lucknow, where the Congress has little presence, Mr. Gandhi drew people out onto the streets as he headed for the airport.

`Politics of heart'

PTI, UNI report:

Earlier, speaking to newspersons in Amethi, Mr. Gandhi said while developed countries continued to strive for more development, the "saffron party" seemed to be content with the present level of development.

"The developed countries strive for more and more development but they [BJP] say we are fully developed," he said without naming the ruling BJP when asked about the feel-good factor. He said his aim was to bring people together and not to divide them as he believed in "politics of heart."

Local security

Despite being in the official `Z' plus category, Ms. Gandhi and Mr. Gandhi would be guarded by private securitymen — mostly locals from Amethi and Rae Bareli.

"Locals have an emotional attachment with their leader and, hence, can provide better security," sources said in Amethi today. The two would be guarded by an 800-member strong team of the Special Core Group during their election campaign in Amethi and Rae Bareli.

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