Cong releases Raipur-specific manifesto

In a strategic move, Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee on Monday came up with a separate poll manifesto for the Raipur Lok Sabha constituency promising to address local issues and provide relief to the people.

The move was seen as an attempt by the Congress to bring unemployment, farm crisis and other development issues into focus to take on the Modi juggernaut in the election and wrest the Raipur parliamentary seat from the BJP after a gap of 21 years.

“A separate poll manifesto has been released for Raipur because people are asking what the candidate of our party will do for them if he wins,” Congress MLA from Raipur City Gramin seat said.

Congress sources indicate that the party may also come up with local issue-centric poll manifesto for other Lok Sabha constituencies which are gearing up for polls in the second and third phase of the elections.

Despite the grand old party ending the 15-year-long rule of the BJP under chief minister Raman Singh with a massive mandate in the Assembly polls held five months ago, Modi’s aura continues to draw the attention of voters.

The BJP is aggressively pushing the issue of nationalism across the State, accusing the Congress of being soft on Maoists and all other “anti-national forces,” more so since BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi was killed by Maoists in an ambush in Dantewada ahead of the first phase of polls in Bastar last week.

Out of a total 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh, the BJP currently has 10 under it.

The poll manifesto released by Congress candidate from the Raipur seat and mayor of the Raipur municipal corporation Pramod Dubey, promises for the establishment of more industry and making Raipur an IT hub to provide job opportunities to the state's youth if the Congress candidate wins from the seat.

It promises women safety, sanitation and better drinking water facilities, launch of metro rail project, smart parking facilities, increase in labourers’ wage, launch of irrigation projects as well as the establishment of an Ayurveda university in the Raipur zone.

It also promises to address problems being faced by businessmen after the rollout of the GST and demonetisation.

The Raipur Lok Sabha constituency, which is set to go to polls along with six other constituencies in third phase on April 23, is composed of eight assembly segments — four of which are with the Congress, two with BJP and one with Ajit Jogi’s Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (JCC).

The BJP has fielded ex-mayor of the Raipur municipal corporation Sunil Kumar Soni, who belongs to the dominant Other Backward Class (OBC) community here, against Dubey from Raipur, denying ticket to its sitting MP Ramesh Bais.

Bais has been a sitting MP of the BJP from this seat for last six consecutive terms.