nFearing a setback in Haryana and Maharashtra, the top Congress leadership has refrained itself from going ahead with a full-throttle poll campaign for the October 21 Assembly election in the two States.
While Congress president Sonia Gandhi will address just one public rally in Haryana, her predecessor Rahul Gandhi has made a late entry in the campaign after returning from Bangkok.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh too will join the party's campaign in only in the last lap and that too, just in neighboring Haryana.
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who jumped into mainstream politics couple of months before the Lok Sabha polls, and is in the star campaigner list for both the States, is yet to hit the campaign trail and that has caused worry in the grand old party which is also reportedly hit by cash crunch to meet the poll expenses.
The campaigning in both the states will come to an end on Saturday. Contrary to the Congress, the top ruling party leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have addressed many rallies in both the States.
While the Congress, which is fighting internal squabbling in both the States, is again banking on a reluctant Rahul Gandhi, who as per AICC sources did not show any interest in the selection of even the candidates for the polls. Rahul has so far addressed five rallies in Maharashtra and one in Haryana while Sonia and Manmohan Singh will join the party's campaign only in its fag end at Mahendragarh district on Friday. The former PM, however, will address two Press conferences in Mumbai and in Chandigarh during the next two days of campaign.
Congress is facing elections after Rahul Gandhi resigned as party chief following the debacle in Lok Sabha polls and Sonia Gandhi was chosen as interim president of the party by the Congress Working Committee (CWC). "Sonia has kept a low profile and is yet to address her first rally. This is a cause of worry as party workers were motivated soon after she took over as the boss," sources said.
While BJP has been talking of achievements of abrogation of special status to Jammu & Kashmir under Article 370, triple talaq etc, Congress has been taking on the BJP-led Government on the economic slowdown and restlessness per se jobs.
The Congress is fighting the Haryana polls on its own under the leadership of former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, it is in alliance with NCP in Maharashtra and faces an uphill task to counter the image of Modi.
Rahul's rallies, have, in fact, seen the absence of popular Mumbai leaders like Milind Deora and Sanjay Nirupam. The candidates too are not getting enough funds to support and sustain their campaigns. Many Congress candidates in Maharashtra claimed that they have not been given any party funds for their campaign. Usually, the party gives around Rs 10 lakh to eachcandidate.
