Sidhu’s strike rate 100% in C’garh, better than Modi’s in Rajasthan, MP

OF 64 ASSEMBLY SEATS HE COVERED IN CHHATTISGARH, RAJASTHAN AND MP, CONGRESS WON 50, A STRIKE RATE OF 78%

CHANDIGARH: Former cricketer and commentator Navjot Singh Sidhu is no more counting tons but victories in seats where he campaigned for the Congress in the recent state assembly elections.

The Punjab minister had hit the campaign trail in mid-november and covered four states in a whirlwind tour of 17 days, including four in Chhattisgarh, six each in MP and Rajasthan and one in Telangana.

The tally prepared by Sidhu’s office shows he held 64 rallies and 10 press conferences in the three states of Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Of the 64 assembly seats he covered in these states, the party won 50, a strike rate of 78%.

In Chhattisgarh, the state where Congress has stormed to power with a overwhelming majority after three back-toback poll drubbings, Sidhu scored 100% results.

He held rallies in 15 seats in the state and the Congress won all the 15. He even outshone Prime Minister Narendra Modi, known for his charisma and oratorical skills, in the state.

While the Congress made strides in the constituencies Sidhu covered, the BJP lost all the five seats — Jagdalpur, Ambikapur, Bilaspur, Raigarh and Mahasamund — where Modi campaigned. Both Modi and Sidhu addressed rallies in Bilaspur constituency, which the BJP lost after victories in four consecutive polls. The two leaders also campaigned at Ambikapur, which went the Congress way. It also won the Manendragarh seat after 20 years and Durg seat after 15 years. too the Congress has returned to power after three poll defeats, the former batsman’s strike rate is 83%. He addressed rallies in 30 seats, of which the Congress won 25, a strike rate of 83%.

In MP, Modi addressed 10 rallies, covering 16 seats, including four each in Gwalior and Jabalpur cities. Of these, the BJP won seven, including one each in Gwalior and Jabalpur.

In Rajasthan, another state wrested by the Congress from the BJP, Sidhu’s strike rate has crossed the halfway mark. He addressed rallies in 19 seats. Of these, the party bagged 10, giving him a strike rate of 52%.

Modi held 10 rallies in the state, covering 19 seats, including two each in Kota and Alwar and eight in Jaipur city. Of these the BJP scraped through just six.“in Jaipur, the PM addressed a rally on the last day, but the BJP could win only three out of eight seats in the city,” Daljit Singh, Sidhu’s close aide said. The BJP won one seat each out of two (Kota and Alwar).

SIDHU COVERED SEATS THAT RAHUL DIDN’T

The Congress strategy was to field Sidhu in seats where no rallies of Congress president Rahul Gandhi were scheduled.

The party had pitted Sidhu to counter UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath and the latter’s temple politics. Though soaking in the glory, Sidhu credits the three-state win to Rahul, who made Sidhu sit with him while addressing a press conference at New Delhi.

“My slogan was ‘Bure din jaane wale hain, Rahul Gandhi aane wale hain (Bad days are about to end, Rahul is going to be at the helm). They voted to see Rahul at the Red Fort,” he says.