From ‘Rahul Milk’ to letters in blood, this fan in Gkp has done it all
GORAKHPUR: For the 2014 general elections, when BJP launched ‘chai pe charcha’ as a poll campaign strategy for its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, a 30-year-old Congress leader in Gorakhpur devised a unique way to counter ‘Modi tea’ campaign by distributing ‘Rahul Milk’.
Today, when Rahul Gandhi became the Congress president, the happiness of Anwar Hussain had no bounds.
“All these years we have worked to establish Rahul as a brand. I have met him personally. He told me that Congress party needed youth like me,” said Anwar on Saturday.
“My plan now, after Rahulji’s elevation, will be to strengthen the Congress by getting more and more young men and women to join the party. He (Rahul) is very popular among youth,” said Anwar, who began his political career as a student leader.
Anwar joined the party in 2005 after being impressed by Rahul Gandhi, who had visited Gorakh- pur that year to attend a Youth Congress meeting at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gorakhpur University. His unique initiatives to promote ‘Brand Rahul’ has been garnering media limelight in the region for a long time.
The ‘Rahul Milk’ campaign got him coverage in national dailies. In 2015, he led a campaign during which Congress leaders made an emotional appeal to elevate Rahul Gandhi as the party president by writing letters with blood to the central leadership.
A master in political science from DDU Gorakhpur Univer-
sity, Anwar was also in the news when he projected, through posters, Rahul and Akhilesh Yadav as “Karan Arjun ki Jodi” during the UP assembly elections early this year. Back then, he distributed ‘Rahul Rose’ to voters with request to vote for the Congress.
In November last year, during demonetisation when reports came in that people were fainting in long bank queues due to exhaustion, he distributed ‘Rahul herbal tea’ to them. This way he also sent out a message against demonetisation. Sometime back when onion prices were soaring, he sold onion ‘Rahul onion’ at Rs 5 per kg.
Anwar was sometime back appointed district general secre- tary and given more responsibilities in the party due to his unique Rahul promotional activities.
He has also set up a picture gallery of Rahul’s photos in his apartment. His coffee mug, too, has Rahul’s picture on it.
“Leaders like Anwar have been working hard to promote Congress through their unique initiatives. Now when Rahulji has called for making Congress a ‘grand old young party’, such leaders will surely help revive Congress here,” said Surheeta Kareem, a spokesperson of the party.