NEW DELHI: Upping its ante in the battle for Jharkhand, the Congress is planning a blitzkrieg campaign, marshalling its big guns to take on the saffron brigade in the poll-bound tribal state starting this week. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will be travelling to the state on Tuesday to address a rally in Ranchi. After that, Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition and its former chief Rahul Gandhi will also campaign in the state ahead of the first phase of polling on November 13.
A joint rally is also being planned by the INDIA bloc partners in the state capital on the coming weekend, where JMM chief and Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Mr Kharge and Mr Gandhi will be addressing a public meeting.
Another "star campaigner" for the party, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is contesting the parliamentary by-election in Wayanad, will go to Jharkhand for the second phase of campaigning after polling in her parliamentary seat finishes on November 3.
Efforts are also underway to get RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal for the proposed joint rally in Ranchi.
While the Congress firms up the campaign schedule for its star campaigners, the party is ready with its manifesto, which will be released later this week. Along with the manifesto, the Congress will also release a list of guarantees for the state where it is the junior partner in the alliance with the JMM and the RJD.
After the Haryana poll debacle, the Congress is not taking any chances in the state. Senior leaders are being sent to the state. The AICC state in-charge G.A. Mir is based in Ranchi and is marshalling the party’s resources. General secretary organisation K.C. Venugopal has also visited the state.
One of the main issues being raised by the Congress is the delay in releasing coal royalties of `1.36-lakh crores to Jharkhand by the Center. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed the Centre owes Jharkhand lakhs of crores of rupees in coal royalties and Central scheme benefits.
Mr Ramesh claimed that in Jharkhand, coal mines are operated by subsidiaries of Coal India Limited, which owe huge sums of money to the state government. "Before seeking a single vote from the people of Jharkhand, the BJP must provide an account for this delay in the release of `1.36-lakh crores to the state," the Congress leader said.
Jharkhand goes to polls in two phases on November 13 and 20. The BJP is seeking to wrest power from the ruling coalition of JMM and the Congress in the state.
