Upbeat Congress ready to bell Modi: AICC general secretary

Ahmedabad, Aug 25 (UNI) All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Manish Tiwari today said his party is upbeat and ready to take on Chief Minister Narendra Modi during the Gujarat Assembly elections, which are scheduled to be held by this year-end.

Addressing mediapersons here, Mr Tiwari said in urban Gujarat, there is a strong undercurrent in favour of the Congress.

He said he had been touring three Vidhan Sabha constituencies in Vadodara and six of Ahmedabad for the last three days. In each of these areas, be it rural or urban, there is a new zeal among senior Congress leaders and the party workers.

''There was discussion on formulating poll strategy. I am happy that the overall atmosphere has changed for the better. In 2002 we lost in a big way. Even our performance in municipal corporations had left much to be desired. Whereas now, I see a new enthusiasm and vigour. Even the common voter is enthusiastically disposed toward the Congress,'' he said, adding, a mobilisation drive is also on.

''Our main focus would be to bust the myth created by the 'Vibrant Gujarat'. By bringing the facts to the notice of the people and also proposing an alternative vision, we will break the halo surrounding 'Vibrant Gujarat','' Mr Tiwari said.

In the last 10 years, from 1995-05, the BJP had been ruling the state. It has ruled for the maximum number of years. Yet Gujarat has been ranked 5th on progress parameters. Despite this, BJP has been tom-toming a myth through its Vibrant Gujarat hype, he alleged.

There has been a rise in atrocities against women, infant mortality has gone up, female foeticide has been rising and male-female ratio is continuing to be skewed, he said.

''Our Election Manifesto Committee has spoken to different categories of people, in both rural and urban areas. Soon, a draft of the election manifesto will be ready,'' the AICC general secretary said.

To a question when the manifesto is expected to be released, Mr Tiwari said it would be released a month before the elections.

Refusing to comment on a question who will be the chief minister of Gujarat if the Congress wins, he said the party believes in collective leadership. There has been no precedent of announcing the candidate for chief ministership before the polls. It is for the party MLAs to decide.

''We are on large scale mass contact programme with the people,'' said Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) chief Bharatsinh Solanki.

He said ''under the AICC chairperson's directive of ''Go to the people'', we are reaching out to understand the joys and sorrows of the people. We are covering all the 182 Vidhan Sabha seats and training our people.'' The party has also planned a Congress yatra in the city after September 15, Mr Solanki added.

UNI