Congress out to ratchet up campaign blitz

Hyderabad: With just six days left for the end of campaign for the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress will intensify its campaign by holding public meetings and road shows of AICC president Rahul Gandhi.

The AICC has revamped the Publicity Committee of the TPCC on Wednesday and appointed TPCC treasurer Gudur Narayana Reddy as co-chairman. Narayana Reddy will coordinate the publicity campaign. The Publicity Committee was constituted with MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy as chairman. As he was busy with his brother Komatireddy Venkat Reddy's campaign in Nalgonda Parliament constituency, the party has appointed Narayana Reddy as co-chairman.

The party is also planning public meetings of Rahul Gandhi on April 8 or 9. According to the sources, he will address a public meeting at Peddpalle and will hold road shows in Bhongir and Malkajgiri Parliamentary Constituencies.

Sources in the party said the leadership decided to step up the campaign in coming six days. The leaders have planned to give a wide publicity to the minimum income guarantee scheme (MIG) widely.

It has aimed to take the message of the All India Congress Committee that if Congress forms government at the Centre, it will implement the MIG which would ensure Rs 72,000 income to all the poor. Along with MIG, the Congress would also give publicity to the promises like creating more jobs and others.

The high command would issue guidelines in this regard to the PCCs. The publicity in-charges of the party would be given instruction on the strategy to be adopted to take the message of MIG to the people.

AICC president Rahul Gandhi has announced the scheme first in Hyderabad and has elaborated on the scheme at his public meetings on April 1. He promised that Congress would implement the scheme with utmost sincerity.

Congress leaders said that the MIG would be an answer to the schemes of ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi's Rythu Bandhu scheme in the State and ruling NDA's Kisan Samman scheme at the Centre.

While TRS and NDA have promised Rs 10,000 and Rs 6,000 to farmers, the Congress would ensure Rs 72,000 to each of the poor families. They said that this could be a game changer if the message can be taken to the masses.