Rahul on hurt Maya drive; to embark on roadshow from today

New Delhi, Nov 22: Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi is all set to dim the Mayawati clout in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the Assembly elections in 2012 by going on a 4-day roadshow from Barabanki, UP. He will kickstart his tour from Tuesday. He has named the roadshow, the "Jan Sampark Abhiyan" (mass contact programme).

In the first phase of his tour, he will cover the areas of Barabanki, Bahraich, Balrampur, Shrawasti and Kushinagar. He will address rallies in each stop and the roadshow will culminate at Kushinagar on Nov 26.

Apart from interacting with party workers, Rahul will look at ways to gain the confidence of voters as well. He had earlier kickstarted the Congress campaign at Phulpur in Allahabad on Nov 14 on the occasion of the birth anniversary of his great-grand father Jawaharlal Nehru. With a fair bit of mud slinging by both Rahul and Mayawati at each other ahead of the polls, Rahul had called the Mayawati-administration a "mafia raj". His comment on the people in UP forced to go and beg in Maharashtra had stirred a huge controversy.

To up the ante against Mayawati, Rahul will continue with his visits to Dalit homes. Rahul aims to increase the political temperature in the state, especially in the aftermath of Mayawati's proposal to divide the state into 4. The resolution in this regard was passed in the state assembly on Monday.

OneIndia News