UNION minister and senior Congress leader Sriprakash Jaiswal told reporters on Thursday that the next CM of Uttar Pradesh ( UP) will be remote- controlled by Rahul Gandhi. “ Whoever becomes the CM ( if Congress comes to power), the remote will be in Rahul ji ’s hands,” the coal minister said in New Delhi, a day after an impressive 64 per cent turnout in the first phase of the state assembly elections for 55 seats in 10 districts.
When prodded, he added: “ Rahul ji has made his promises to the people. Fulfilling the promises will be the responsibility of whoever becomes CM.” Congress sources tried to explain what Jaiswal meant.
According to them, the minister was suggesting that Rahul — the party’s general secretary and Youth Congress in- charge — will take special care of the governance of the state and would personally monitor the developments.
Jaiswal exuded confidence about the Congress forming the next government in UP — all on its own.
“ We are getting more than 200 seats in the 403- member House and will form the government,” he said, adding that Rahul will then look into the functioning of the state.
The Gandhi scion is leading the campaign to bring his party back to power in UP. Otherwise too, sending 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha is crucial for him for the 2014 Parliament elections.
Heaping praise on Rahul, Jaiswal said he would show his skill in the next five years and ensure that his promises are fulfilled.
He lauded Rahul’s vigorous campaign for drawing the youth to the poll booths, and claimed the party had got almost 15 per cent of their votes.
The minister also expressed confidence that Congress’s efforts to woo the Mahadalits and most backward classes would bear fruit.
UP CM and BSP supremo Mayawati, meanwhile, dismissed what she called Rahul Gandhi’s “ natakbazi ( drama) in the huts of the poor and Dalits”. “ It will not yield any positive results for the Congress and we will once again come to power to ensure the development of the state,” she said on Thursday at a rally in Rahul’s constituency of Amethi.
“ These districts ( Amethi and Rae Bareli) are not the Gandhi family’s private property. We have also worked for development,” she added.
THE fifth generation of the Gandhis was unveiled before an impatient crowd in the old sleepy bazaar of Karhiya.
Congress supporters were waiting for Priyanka Gandhi, but what happened next took even the local floor managers by surprise. The kids promptly followed their mother from the rear door of the white SUV and stepped on the stage.
Foreheads marked with tilaks, Rehan and Miraya stood listening to their mother, waving occasionally, but more or less disinterested in the events — true to their age.
The public presence was also punctuated with mild nonverbal gestures, such as the gentle on- stage nudge which Miraya got from Priyanka.
Though Priyanka was quick to dispel the political connotation of the arrival of her children on the stage, she said: “ It is a good education for them… to see how people live in villages.” She added that the kids always accompanied her and it was nothing new this time.
The fact, however, is that sharing the dais in the middle of the poll campaign was a political first for Rehan and Miraya. It was a departure from the earlier appearances, which had been non- political.
The intense speculation had its effect. After the first round, the children went missing from the dais — the family probably realised their presence had generated enough speculation in Amethi.
The other side of the coin is that what was seen in Amethi wasn’t out of the blue. Introduction in the public domain has always been casual, but strong enough to remain etched in collective memory.
Thanks Mail today