Cong selects Dhule to roll out poll campaign from Mar 1
Congress while changing its ritual of five decades to begin poll campaign from the tribal district of Nandurbar, has this time round chosen Dhule to roll out their 2019 Lok Sabha campaign. Party president Rahul Gandhi will address the public rally in Dhule on March 1 kick starting the poll campaign in Maharashtra.
Nandurbar, the tribal district which was once part of the united Dhule district, has remained a favourite choice of Congress to launch its poll campaign in Maharashtra, till 2014. The party lost the seat during the Modi wave for the first time since the first general elections held in 1952.
In Maharashtra, Congress and the Nationalist Congress party (NCP) have formed an alliance with other small allies. Nandurbar seat is with the Congress, as per sharing formula and K C Padvi, the sitting legislator is expected to be the candidate of Congress.
In Dhule, the poll fray is expected between Rohidas Patil of Congress against Dr Subhash Bhamare of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Bhamare is the sitting Member of Parliament and union minister of state for defence.
According to a senior Congress leader, Dhule is the only safe seat for Congress in Khandesh region. “Both the seats, one in Jalgaon district and the other in Nandurbar is tough for the Congress to win. On the contrary, Dhule seems safe and a likely winner for the party. That is why the top leaders have decided to organise Gandhi's rally in Dhule instead of in Nandurbar,” said the leader.
The leader further pointed out, there has been unrest against Dr Bhamare within the BJP. It can help Congress if their party workers are able to convert this unrest and swing the votes favouring Congress.
Rahul Gandhi’s rally will follow two joint public meetings of the Congress and NCP on February 20 and February 23, to be held in Nanded and Beed respectively.
After this solo Congress rally, the first joint public rally of both Congress and NCP will be held in Nanded on February 20. It is the constituency of former chief minister, Ashok Chavan. Chavan is also the current state president of Congress party and his wife Anita is seen as the probable candidate for LS polls. Anita Chavan is the sitting legislator.
The second joint public rally of Congress-NCP will be held in Parli in Beed constituency. Dr Pritam Munde, daughter of late BJP leader Gopinath Munde is sitting MP from Beed.