Chandigarh: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi was on a visit to Chandigarh on Saturday, during which he discussed election strategy with party workers and leaders from Punjab. The state will go to polls next year.
The Congress, which has been out of power in the state for two straight terms, will focus on farmers and youth, party sources said. But Mr Gandhi also told the leaders to stay away from internal politics, which had led to factionalism and had been a key factor in the party's poor showing in elections.
Earlier this month, the party's senior leadership had sent out a strong message to discourage factionalism. It had expelled two leaders -- former Deputy Speaker Bir Devinder Singh and former lawmaker Jagmeet Singh Brar -- who had been hitting out at state Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh, the man the party is banking on to lead them to a victory in the assembly polls next year.
Mr Gandhi also asked the leaders to go out in the field to connect with the rural masses - a move that is expected to counter the growing influence of the Aam Aadmi Party in the state, which has its big support base among the urban voters. In the 2014 General elections, AAP had won four seats from Punjab and has emerged as a strong third player.
Mr Gandhi took on the state government for failing to make timely payments to farmers for the procurement of wheat. He said the farmers of Punjab "feed the entire country, but they are not getting their due".
The Congress, which has been out of power in the state for two straight terms, will focus on farmers and youth, party sources said. But Mr Gandhi also told the leaders to stay away from internal politics, which had led to factionalism and had been a key factor in the party's poor showing in elections.
Earlier this month, the party's senior leadership had sent out a strong message to discourage factionalism. It had expelled two leaders -- former Deputy Speaker Bir Devinder Singh and former lawmaker Jagmeet Singh Brar -- who had been hitting out at state Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh, the man the party is banking on to lead them to a victory in the assembly polls next year.
Mr Gandhi also asked the leaders to go out in the field to connect with the rural masses - a move that is expected to counter the growing influence of the Aam Aadmi Party in the state, which has its big support base among the urban voters. In the 2014 General elections, AAP had won four seats from Punjab and has emerged as a strong third player.
Advertisement
Mr Gandhi took on the state government for failing to make timely payments to farmers for the procurement of wheat. He said the farmers of Punjab "feed the entire country, but they are not getting their due".
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
"Rahul Gandhi Too...": BJP MP's Jibe After Assassination Attempt On Trump BJP Accuses Congress Of Inciting Violence Against PM Modi With 'Maut' And 'Hinsa' Remarks "Take Immediate Action": Rahul Gandhi On INDIA's Bihar Ally Brutal Murder Massive Worldwide Microsoft Outage: Flights, Markets, Stock Exchange Down CrowdStrike Falcon Sensor: The Culprit Behind World's Biggest IT Outage UPSC Cracks Down, Says Puja Khedkar Faked Identity, Parents' Name, Address Microsoft Outage "Affecting IT Operations" Paris Olympics Organisers Biden Or Trump, It's Still A Long Wait For Indian 'Dreamers' In US ISRO Chief Gets His PhD From IIT-Madras: "A Village Boy's Dream Fulfilled" Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.