UTTARAKHAND POLLS 2012

Sonia fails to turn up at rally venue Thousands of Congress supporters disappointed; Fog plays spoilsport

Haldwani, January 4
The Congress plans to kick-start the poll campaign in Uttarakhand with a bang ended in a fiasco of sorts as the star campaigner for the opening public rally, party president Sonia Gandhi failed to turn up at the venue.

Thousands of Congress supporters had to go back disappointed as the weather played truant and did not allow Sonia Gandhi to fly to Haldwani on account of the dense fog on the route. With the poor visibility preventing her arrival, it was left to the state-level leadership that was accompanied by a couple of faces from the central organisation to take the event forward. The moment the SPG personnel vanished from the venue, the public got the inkling that Sonia’s programme had been cancelled and started moving out in large numbers.

Some of them with links in the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters could be seen calling up Delhi to make sure whether the programme had actually been cancelled.

Ironically, the rally had initially been scheduled to be held in Rudrapur and later Haldwani was chosen as the venue.

The Congress supporters had come to the MB Postgraduate College Grounds in large numbers from across the region to participate in the rally which was supposed to kickstart Sonia’s campaign schedule for the five poll-bound states. The supporters had started gathering on the spot from 10 am.

Observers feel that despite Sonia’s absence, the rally has proved to be a success as the supporters got to hear what the party had to offer during its campaign and if voted to power. The tone was set by former Cabinet Minister and Congress heavyweight from Haldwani Indira Hridayesh who announced from the stage that the Congress would be setting the state on the path of economic growth if voted to power. She said the party would set up Uttarakhand Financial Corporation to give loans to entrepreneurs at the lesser rates of interest. She also talked about giving an unemployment allowance to the youth.

Hridayesh said apart from providing low-cost housing to the weaker sections of society, the Congress would also provide agricultural loans at 3 per cent rate of interest. She also promised the revival of the Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) unit at Bhimtal.

Interacting with mediapersons amidst the speeches being made from the stage, Union Minister Harish Rawat ruled out that there were differences within the party and claimed that the response of the people for the rally showed that they were desperate for a change.

Lok Sabha member from Almora Pradeep Tamta said the Dalits and minorities had always been safe under the Congress rule.