Is Rahul Gandhi going to micromanage Karnataka polls for Congress?

Reports indicate that senior Congress leaders from Karnataka are going to meet Rahul Gandhi in Delhi on Saturday.

Bengaluru, Jan 12: In December last year, the Congress lost two important Assembly elections to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - first, the grand old party was 'removed from power' in Himachal Pradesh and second, the BJP came to power in Gujarat for the fifth consecutive time.

While both the elections proved to be two losing battles, in Gujarat, in spite, of facing a defeat, the Congress won a "moral victory".

The credit for the success of restricting the BJP to only 99 seats and improving the Congress' tally to 77 seats in the 182-member Assembly in Gujarat went to Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

Months ahead of the Gujarat polls, Rahul started campaigning for the Congress in the state. It was during the Gujarat election campaign, we got to see a new avatar of Rahul, interacting with the crowd with ease, attacking the Narendra Modi government with facts and figures, visiting temples and enjoying food and beverages in between the hectic schedule.

Rahul's attempts to lead the Congress from the front gave party workers enough confidence and hope that the BJP is not invincible and results proved that a well-fought battle can never be a losing one.

Now, as the polls are scheduled for Karnataka, where the Congress is in power, Rahul and his team members have to up the ante to defeat the BJP. The saffron party, on its part, has been aggressively campaigning in the southern state.

From BJP president Amit Shah to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Karnataka seems to have become the favourite destination for all top saffron party leaders.

The incumbent CM of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah, has been bravely facing the onslaught from the BJP in the last few weeks, as observers allege that the Karnataka poll has already turned "communal" as leaders of both the BJP and the Congress are only talking about religion and cow.

Although date/dates for the elections are yet to be announced by the Election Commission, both the parties have already started campaigning in Karnataka.

Now, reports indicate that senior Congress leaders from Karnataka are going to meet Rahul in Delhi on Saturday.

Senior Congress leaders from Karnataka to meet Rahul Gandhi in Delhi on 13 January. (File Pic) pic.twitter.com/kdA41Q76vd

— ANI (@ANI) January 11, 2018

It is obvious that the meeting is to discuss elections and how to prepare for it, informed a Congress leader from Karnataka.

When asked if Rahul is going to play an active role in the Karnataka elections, like he did during the Gujarat polls, the Congress leader said the party is not going to leave any stone unturned to defeat the BJP.

"Rahul is our boss and he will guide us during the elections," smiled the leader, without revealing anything about the Congress' strategy for the Karnataka polls.

OneIndia News