Thursday, May 16, 2013

Rahul Gandhi visits Rajasthan; holds discussions with leaders to strengthen Congress



Bikaner: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi who is on a two-day visit to Rajasthan, interacted with party workers and leaders in Bikaner on Wednesday  and discussed strategy on revitalising the party ahead of state assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
Ticket distribution, fine-tuning the party for upcoming assembly and general elections, and ties between the party and government were on the agenda of several meetings Rahul Gandhi had with Congress workers. The Congress Vice President, who arrived here on Wednesday morning, also took feedback from workers and leaders about the party's affairs and political situation in the state.
Rahul Gandhi had the view that the party at the block-level should be strengthened and leaders empowered. He also suggested a proper coordination between them and the government.”MLAs and MPs should also work in coordination with the party" added the Congress leader.
Rahul Gandhi suggested strong candidates of NSUI and Youth Congress should be given a chance to contest elections and not those who were defeated twice or more. The Congress candidates who lost in the assembly and Lok Sabha elections were also invited for the meetings.
It was a rare initiative taken by one of the party's top leaders to directly interact with the elected leaders from the lowest rung of democratic bodies in rural as well as urban areas- councillors from the municipalities were also invited for the meeting. In turn, the panchayat and municipal leaders expressed their woes before the party vice-president on how the senior leaders in the government sidelined them and ignored their suggestions while taking policy decisions. Rahul Gandhi has given an assurance of strengthening the grassroots workers' voices.
At another session with the elected leaders of Youth Congress and NSUI, the Congress vice-president advocated the idea of the youth being given the chance to turnaround the party's prospects in regions where its senior leaders have consistently failed. For the upcoming assembly elections, Rahul asked chief minister Ashok Gehlot to consider fielding Youth Congress and NSUI leaders from constituencies that the party consecutively lost in the past two elections.
In his first interaction with the elected representatives of panchayatiraj bodies from rural Rajasthan on Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi praised these grassroots leaders for their deep understanding of a common man's issues. Rahul Gandhi said these party workers made for better leaders as compared to the "helicopter netas" (high-status leaders) or the "parachute netas" (leaders with no local connect).

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