Priyanka Gandhi to sound Cong’s poll bugle in MP in June

Jabalpur: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will kickstart the Congress’s campaign for the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections from Jabalpur city in June, a party functionary said on Saturday.

Jabalpur is the centre of Mahakoshal region which has a sizable tribal presence.

Assembly elections are due in the BJP-ruled state by year-end. In the last elections, the Congress had won 11 out of 13 seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes in the Jabalpur division.

“Priyanka Gandhi will launch the party’s campaign and ‘Sankalp 2023’ on June 12 here,” Jabalpur mayor and city Congress chief Jagat Bahadur Singh said. The Congress general secretary will hold a two-km roadshow in the city and address a rally, Singh said. People in Mahakoshal area feel neglected by the BJP, he claimed, adding, “We did well (last time) in the area. This time around we are going to sweep elections in the region.”

Asked why Priyanka Gandhi particularly chose Jabalpur to launch the party’s campaign, Congress Rajya Sabha member Vivek Tankha said Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra had not passed through this region though it covered Malwa and Central India.

There is a strong anti-incumbency sentiment in the region where a large number of tribals, traditional Congress voters, live, Tankha added. Mahakoshal or Jabalpur division has eight districts — Jabalpur, Katni, Seoni, Narsinghpur, Balaghat, Mandla, Dindori and Chhindwara.