Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal said Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, will begin the party’s Punjab campaign with a large rally in Sangrur district on November 4. The Punjab Congress is holding a series of strategy meetings in Chandigarh to prepare.
Venugopal spoke after chairing a day-long organisational review at the Punjab Congress office in Chandigarh. He said the party was meeting senior leaders, District Congress Committee presidents and former candidates, along with the state party president and the Congress Legislature Party leader.
The rally, called “Hisaab Maango” (Demand Accountability), is meant to set the tone for the campaign. Party leaders are targeting the AAP government over law and order and the drug menace. Sangrur is considered Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s home turf.
Punjab Congress in-charge Sachin Pilot said the party is united behind the effort. He said the Congress will fight together under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership to address the state’s law and order and drug problems. Venugopal also expressed confidence about the polls. He said Punjab’s people want a complete change and that the Congress expects to form the government.
Other state leaders also commented ahead of the rally. Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said the party is looking forward to the rally and expects a major comeback. State party president Pargat Singh said an organisational meeting on Monday would finalise rally arrangements. The party says it will step up its political and organisational activity under “Mission 2027”, with the Sangrur programme as an important step.
The Congress has ground to recover. In 2022 it won 18 of the 117 Assembly seats, a sharp fall from 77 in 2017.
