As expected, the three main campaigners of the Congress for the Lok Sabha elections were party president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Rahul Gandhi led 107 rallies and roadshows besides shorts on Instagram and YouTube, while Kharge did 100-plus rallies and more than 70 interviews. Priyanka Gandhi did 108 rallies and roadshows. None matched up to the campaign blitz of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Of the three, Rahul Gandhi was the only one to do joint rallies with INDIA partners like SP leader Akhilesh Yadav and RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, sending the clear message that any post-poll talks will be led by him. It’s also amply clear that Rahul Gandhi is playing the role played by Sonia Gandhi after the 2004 general elections during which she had held joint rallies with Sharad Pawar and Lalu Yadav among others. She eventually became the architect of the UPA.
Rahul Gandhi has campaigned across most states, majority of his rallies being down south. He held around 15 rallies in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana, ensuring he made his presence felt in the rural areas as well. In Wayanad, his constituency, Rahul Gandhi did two rallies, including the one during his nomination.
But what stands out is zero rallies in West Bengal; not even one for Adhir Ranjan Choudhary, the man who takes on Mamata Banerjee and who was chosen by Rahul Gandhi to hold alliance talks with the Left. In fact, no Congress leader came to campaign for Adhir Ranjan, but it was Rahul Gandhi’s absence that was the talking point.
Despite Mamata Banerjee snapping ties with the Congress in West Bengal, the grand old party has been reluctant to take her on. With the national leadership passive, the task of challenging Mamata Banerjee as usual fell to Adhir, one he gladly undertook given that his political survival depends on it.
Congress sources say that while Rahul Gandhi did lead his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra through Bengal, he wanted to stop at that since a campaign in Bengal would have meant attacking the TMC which the Congress wants to avoid.
Priyanka Gandhi, meanwhile, campaigned across 16 states, but once Rahul Gandhi’s name was announced from Raebareli, she parked herself in Amethi and Raebareli. Her campaigns meant roadshows, focus on women and also interviews unlike her brother. Maximum interviews, however, were given by soon-to-be-82 Kharge.
A surprise element of the Congress’s campaign was Sachin Pilot, who held more than 100 rallies across states. After Rajasthan, his home state, and Chattisgarh, which he is in-charge of, Pilot campaigned extensively in other states as well. He was sent to Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Wayanad and other constituencies in the South.
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