Sonia, Rahul in poll mode; to rally troops at Ramlila today

The ruling Congress party seems to be getting into clear electoral mode. Last Sunday, it carried out a major cabinet reshuffle to send a message of purposefulness; tomorrow, another Sunday, it is holding a mega rally at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi to energise the organisational machinery and instill confidence in party workers. The mood among party workers is currently down in the dumps due to the a series of corruption charges levelled against the the UPA government and the First Family. The rally will be followed up next Friday (9 November) with a “Samvad Baithak (Dialogue Meet) at Surajkund near Delhi. This will be followed closely by a Chintan Baithak (brainstorming session). [caption id=“attachment_513611” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  If the opposition manages to embarrass the government with its numbers on any such issue, the Congress will have to be ready for an election sooner than later. PTI[/caption] Though, on the face of it, the Congress does not seem to be in any kind of trouble in terms of numbers in Parliament, ahead of the winter session (which begins on 22 November), party strategists realise that in the current surcharged political atmosphere—where corruption charges and allegations have been flying fast and thick against both the Congress and the First Family—accidents can happen. After the exit of the Trinamool Congress and the broad opposition unity against allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retailing, the party feels it could be attacked on issues such as corruption and inflation. If the opposition manages to embarrass the government with its numbers on any such issue, the Congress will have to be ready for an election sooner than later. In this context, the party feels it is important to get the machinery oiled and battle-ready. This is the first time the ruling party at the centre will be holding a show of strength since Indira Gandhi’s time. The rally is being given huge billing and it will be one of those rare occasions when Congress President Sonia Gandhi, General Secretary Rahul Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmoihan Singh will make a public appearance together - all on one stage. At Ramlila Maidan, five stages are being erected. While one stage will be occupied by Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi, members of the Congress Working Committee, ministers and senior MPs will be on another stage. A 17-member group will present a cultural programme from the third stage. Two other stages will be kept for photographers and television cameramen. Around the same time on Sunday, in faraway Patna, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is also getting into election mode. He is organising an Adhikar Rally to push his case for obtaining special status for Bihar. Sonia Gandhi and Nitish Kumar will be exercising lung power even as voters in Himachal Pradesh line up to vote in the assembly election tomorrow. What is common to both the Congress and Nitish Kumar rallies is the ostensible economic agenda. The Congress had initially planned the rally as a counter to the opposition-sponsored Bharat bandh against FDI in retail, and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s rally in Delhi last month on the same issue. Mamata has plans to return to the capital  later this month. The Congress wants to tell its critics that it has the support of the masses on FDI, which is being touted as a pro-farmer move. The crowd for Sunday’s rally will be herded in from the neighbouring states of Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. However, it is anybody’s guess whether Sonia and Rahul will talk about the need for economic reform or merely take on the opposition—mainly the BJP—on the rhetoric of corruption. There is a growing feeling in the party that it needs to take some populist measures to correct the impression that it is more concerned with the welfare of the few and neglecting its aam aadmi poll plank. The latest decision to withhold further increases in LPG cylinder prices, which would have otherwise taken the price to around Rs 925, the proposal to increase the cap on subsidised cylinders from six to nine, the increase in the minimum support prices of rabi pulses and oilseeds, and the stiffening of provisions in the Land Acquisition Bill are part of the aam aadmi wooing exercise. Clouding the picture is the dent in the image of the First Family following the Robert Vadra-DLF  capers and the allegations levelled by Subramanian Swamy against Sonia and Rahul. Swamy accused the mother and son of land grab on 1 November. The Congress is hoping that Sunday’s maha rally—to be attended by anyone who is someone in the Congress hierarchy - will put some zing into the party’s sagging morale.