Rahul cancels poll campaign
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi announced on Sunday that he would not campaign in the remaining phases of the West Bengal election due to the prevailing Covid situation.
“I would advise all political leaders to think deeply about the consequences of holding large public rallies,” Gandhi tweeted.
NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi announced on Sunday that he will not campaign for the remaining phases of the West Bengal elections due to the prevailing Covid-19 situation.
“In view of the Covid situation, I am suspending all my public rallies in West Bengal. I would advise all political leaders to think deeply about the consequences of holding large public rallies under the current circumstances,” Gandhi tweeted. He had so far spent one day in the state to support party candidates.
The Bengal election, spread over eight phases, still has three more rounds of polling left. The Left parties, who inked a formal seat pact with the Congress for the first time in Bengal, have already announced that they would not hold any major rallies or roadshows due to the raging Covid infections.
Gandhi’s decision came when his party had been critical of the Narendra Modi-led BJP’s plan to continue political rallies in West Bengal. On Saturday, former finance minister P Chidambaram hit out at the PM for addressing large rallies even as health advisories suggested that people should maintain social distance. “I hope the people of Bengal will notice this and give a befitting reply in the election,” Chidambaram said.
In Bengal, Gandhi was scheduled to campaign in Malda and Murshidabad—the two Congress strongholds in the state where the poll battle is largely between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress.