ELECTION STRATEGY DECIDED IN RAHUL-KHARGE MEETING

ELECTION STRATEGY DECIDED IN RAHUL-KHARGE MEETING

10-SEP-ENG 7

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

DELHI----------------------Assembly elections are to be held in Bihar this year and as the elections are approaching, the political stir in the state has intensified. All the parties are preparing to enter the electoral fray with their own strategies.

Assembly elections are to be held in Bihar this year and as the elections are approaching, the political stir in the state has intensified. All the parties are preparing to enter the electoral fray with their own strategies. The Congress party has also become fully active. The party has formulated a new strategy to reach out to the voters and strengthen the organization before the elections.

On Tuesday, a meeting was held with senior leaders of Bihar Congress in Delhi under the chairmanship of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi. In this meeting, the upcoming programs, seat sharing, campaign and selection of potential candidates were discussed in detail. Congress is now going to start new public relations programs to capitalize on the atmosphere created by the Voter Rights Yatra, in which rallies are being planned at the divisional and district level. Participation of Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge is also possible in these rallies.

After the meeting, Bihar Congress in-charge Krishna Allavaru said that the work done so far was reviewed and further strategy was discussed. He also clarified that the party wants to release the list of candidates as soon as possible, so that the candidates get enough time for campaigning.

This time Congress is in the mood to contest about 70 assembly seats like last time. However, the party is trying to change some seats and for this there is dialogue with RJD, the main constituent party of the Grand Alliance. Krishna Allavaru said that the talks regarding seat sharing are in a positive direction and "understanding" is being made between all the parties of the Grand Alliance.

This time after the inclusion of new allies like Rashtriya Lok Janata Party (RLJP) and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) in the Grand Alliance, there was discussion about seat sharing as well as joint manifesto and election campaign. Congress wants the face of the grand alliance to look strong and united, so special emphasis is being laid on maintaining coordination.

An important meeting of the Congress screening committee will be held in Delhi on Wednesday. In this meeting, the applications received from the state will be reviewed and the names of potential candidates will be considered. In the meeting, work will be done towards preparing the final list keeping in mind the social, political and regional qualifications of the candidates.

Many senior leaders participated in this strategic meeting, including state president Rajesh Ram, screening committee chairman Ajay Maken, leader of the legislative party Shakeel Ahmed Khan, Legislative Council leader Madan Mohan Jha, former state president Akhilesh Singh, MPs Tariq Anwar, Manoj Kumar, Mohammad Javed, and independent MPs Pappu Yadav and his wife Ranjit Ranjan, as well as Kanhaiya Kumar were prominently present.

This time Congress does not want to give the message that there is any difference of opinion in the grand alliance regarding seat sharing. The party's emphasis is on taking all decisions with mutual consent and transparency.