Don't engage BJP on Balakot, focus on everyday issues: Congress chalks out strategy for Lok Sabha polls

After floundering for so long on how to challenge the BJP’s nationalism-national security-Hindutva narrative and being boxed into a corner post the Pulwama terror attack and Balakot airstrikes, the Congress appears to have finally hit upon a strategy: Focussing on core issues that ensured the party’s victory in last year’s Assembly polls in the Hindi heartland. If the speeches of Congress president Rahul Gandhi and general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meet in Gujarat on Tuesday are any indication, issues related to agrarian crisis, farmer distress, unemployment, safety of women, Dalits, minorities and the poor will be at the heart of the party’s campaign. “You have a weapon with you… weapon of vote… Use this weapon wisely. In the elections many issues will be presented to you. It’s your responsibility to use your vote wisely," said Priyanka, the AICC in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh. [caption id=“attachment_6078221” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary and sister Priyanka Gandhi in Lucknow.[/caption] In her brief address, Priyanka spoke about unemployment, women’s security and agrarian distress. She made no mention of Rafale deal and the Balakot air strikes. This is interesting, considering the Congress appeared to have lost the momentum gained by hyping the controversial deal after the Balakot airstrike by the Indian Air Force. The party has realised that engaging with the BJP on issues related to government’s stance on the Pulwama terror attack and Pakistan will inadvertently give BJP the upper hand. Her message was clear: given the problems the country is facing, voters should exercise their franchise and choose the right political party. While Rahul has aggressively been attacking the prime minister and government with slogans like ‘chowkidaar chor hai’, it seems the party wants Priyanka to take up issues that connect with the common man, especially women. According to a Congress source, Priyanka won’t restrict herself to eastern Uttar Pradesh, but will also campaign in other parts of the country. The Congress won three BJP-ruled states — Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajathan — at the end of 2018 by focussing on issues such as farmer distress, labourers, workers in unorganised sector, small traders, unemployment among youth. Prior to that, the Congress managed to form a government in Karnataka allying with Janata Dal (Secular) and even in the 2017 Gujarat election, it restricted the ruling BJP to 99 seats in a 182-seat Assembly by winning 77 seats. It was from Gujarat that Congress president Rahul Gandhi aggressively campaigned on issues related to farmers, Dalits, youth, small traders and unemployment. In 2014, the grand old party had its worst showing in any general election, winning only 44 seats. Now, after somewhat of a resurgence in 2018, the Congress wants to use what it sees as a winning template against the BJP. “Congress will focus on core issues affecting people across the country: from economy to agriculture; unemployment to women security and youth,” a senior Congress leader and CWC member told Firstpost on condition of anonymity. “This will expose the failure of the Modi government over the past five years. The party will also take up important issues at state-level. However, that doesn’t mean Rafale deal and corruption within the government will take a backseat; the emphasis will be on core issues. We’ve seen the result in the assembly elections.” The core issues that the party wants to take forward and amplify during election campaign were endorsed in CWC resolution passed during the closed-door meeting at Ahmedabad. “The Congress party expresses its strong disappointment that the PM is cynically exploiting the issue of national security, on which we are all united, to divert attention from his colossal failures… government is guilty of monumental mismanagement of the Indian economy,” the resolution stated. “The government has been a failure on all fronts and inflicted pain and misery on the people through its reckless decisions of demonetisation and hasty imposition of a flawed GST. Lakhs of factories were closed, unorganised sector, MSMEs were most affected and tens of millions of workers lost their jobs and livelihood. The unprecedented joblessness, agrarian crisis, distress of kisans and khet mazdoors (farmers and farm labourers) are issues of grave national concern,” the resolution further added. “If Congress comes to power, it’s committed to implement Minimum Income support to the poor, weak and marginalised sections of society,” the resolution concluded.