After Uttar Pradesh, Rahul Gandhi's next political target for the Congress will be Bihar where assembly polls are scheduled late next year. Gandhi will be concentrating on Bihar after his success in UP, which includes his role in the victory of the party in the Firozabad Lok Sabha by-election, party sources said. Due to Gandhi's efforts, the party had won 21 seats in the Lok Sabha elections in May and the tally has now increased to 22. The feeling in the party is that if Congress could do well in UP, it could certainly do so in Bihar where the party has been out of power for the last almost 20 years. Sources said that the party was unlikely to align with any party in the Bihar polls and would like to go it alone. "Our strategy in Bihar is reflected in the forthcoming assembly elections in Jharkhand where we have desisted from aligning with either RJD or JMM despite strong pleas by these parties for stitching of a secular alliance," a source said. In the Lok Sabha elections, Congress had fought on its own after being dumped by RJD and LJP. Though the Congress could win only two seats out of 40, it was instrumental in ensuring bringing down the tally of the RJD to four and LJP failed to even open its account.
TUMKUR: AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi made a strong pitch for women's empowerment at his rally on Sunday, and said it's the only way for the country to become a superpower. Addressing a women's rally at Tumkur, 70km from Bangalore, Rahul said the country today was half a superpower because women had not been given equal status. "India will not become a superpower if women aren't given opportunities. We need equal representation for women at all levels to make them empowered," he told a mammoth gathering. Rahul, who is also co-chairman of the Congress campaign committee for the LS polls, was here on a two-day tour. Chanting the women empowerment mantra, he was critical of his own party. "Men outnumber women at this rally. This is the situation the Congress is facing today. Men are preferred over women while giving tickets for assembly and Lok Sabha elections. This has to change and I want more women to attend rallies and participate in the el...
Comments