Lucknow: The Congress has started a ‘Haath Se Haath Jodo’ campaign in Uttar Pradesh, as a follow-up to its ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, to reach out to people in the hinterlands ahead of the 2024 general elections.
This state-level campaign, party leaders, said will strengthen the Congress’ prospects and act as an extension of the Kanyakumari to Kashmir ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ that passed through the politically crucial state earlier this month.
Uttar Pradesh sends sends 80 members to the 542-member Lok Sabha.
The ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ is currently in its final lap in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, with Rahul Gandhi hoisting the national flag at Lal Chowk in the city on Sunday.
AICC national general secretary and in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is likely to visit the state in February for the programme, party leaders said.
The ‘Haath Se Haath Jodo’ campaign is aimed at apprising people at the grassroots level of the failures of the central government, they said.
Armed with a letter from Rahul Gandhi sharing his experiences during the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, Congress leaders and workers aim to fan out across the state up to the tehsil, block and village levels in order to connect with people during the next two months.
“The aim of the campaign is to apprise the people of the kind of hatred which is seen in society and the prevailing situation in Uttar Pradesh. We have presented certain facts in a ‘chargesheet’ against the government on issues such as farmer suicides, betrayal of the youth and how their dreams were shattered by the central and the state governments,” Congress spokesperson Ashok Singh said. In-charges of all the 849 blocks in the state have been been finalised for the campaign. Congress leaders, office bearers and workers will go from village to village and communicate with the public, he said.