Kolkata:
For the first time ever, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addressed a public rally in Kolkata today.
"There will be a change in Bengal in the next four to five months. Just as it did in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. There was a time when Bengal would think, and the rest of the country would do it," the Congress General Secretary said.
Officially, Gandhi was launching a membership drive for the Youth Congress. But with Assembly elections in West Bengal due next year, Gandhi had other agendas - to take on the ruling Left government and to carve out space for the Congress as an independent entity. The Congress is currently in an alliance with Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress in West Bengal.
"Under the CPI(M) rule, there are two Bengals. One is for CPI(M) which is shining and the second is for you -- the Bengal of the poor (
Aapka Hamara aur Garibo ka Bengal),"
said Rahul.
In his first ever public rally in the city, Rahul said 45 per cent of the people in the state have no ration cards.
There was considerable security at Shahid Minar in the heart of Kolkata which was the venue of Gandhi's rally.
With elections coming up soon, the state will see focused attention from senior politicians.
Sonia Gandhi is also scheduled to visit Kolkata on September 25 to attend the Congress' eastern zonal conference. (With PTI inputs)