Rahul Gandhi and Uddhav Thackeray
With the nominations for the Maharashtra Assembly elections over, political turmoil has begun. After the celebration of Diwali, political parties have made plans to give a political edge to the election campaign. The Congress-led Indian Alliance (Maha Vikas Aghadi) has drawn up a strategy to give a befitting response to the BJP-led NDA alliance (Mahayuti) in its own bastion. Under this, Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Malkikarjun Kharge will kick off the Maharashtra election campaign from Nagpur, while Uddhav Thackeray will blow the trumpet of Mission-Maharashtra from Konkan, which is considered a Shiv Sena stronghold.
Following the pattern of the Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge will campaign for the Maharashtra Assembly elections from Nagpur on November 6. The headquarters of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is located in Nagpur. In this way, Rahul Gandhi has drawn up a strategy to give a political message by making electoral noise from the RSS bastion. After the Constitution Honor Lecture in Nagpur, Rahul Gandhi will participate in the Maha Vikas Aghadi program to be held in Mumbai. Rahul Gandhi and Kharge will share the stage with NCP(S) Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray to give a message of unity.
Simple equations from the Constitutional Conference in Nagpur
Rahul Gandhi will attend the Constitution Honor Conference in Nagpur and blow the trumpet for the Maharashtra elections. During this time, Rahul Gandhi and Kharge have adopted the strategy of setting the political agenda by addressing both workers and supporters of the Indian Alliance. During the Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi had set the narrative that the BJP was preparing to change the constitution and end reservations. The NDA had to bear the brunt of this in Maharashtra and has now adopted the strategy of celebrating it again. Behind this lies the political strategy of the Congress, because on the one hand the headquarters of the Sangh is in Nagpur and on the other it has been the center of Bhimrao Ambedkar’s social justice. In this way, Rahul Gandhi tries to establish a political agenda by intensifying his election campaign from Nagpur.
Rahul Gandhi will sharpen the social justice agenda by attending the Constitution Honor Conference in Nagpur. Rahul Gandhi continuously advocates increasing the reservation limit by 50 per cent. In such a situation, Rahul chose Nagpur to sharpen the issue of social justice, because Bhimrao Ambedkar had raised the voice of social justice. Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj was the first to raise the issue of reservations in Maharashtra. Rahul Gandhi had said during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections that there are two ideologies in Nagpur, one ideology is progressive, which is that of Baba Saheb Ambedkar. On the other hand, there is the RSS, which is ruining the country. In such a situation, we will have to follow Ambedkar’s ideology. It was here at Deekshabhoomi that Ambedkar along with thousands of his followers adopted Buddhism on Dussehra day in 1956.
Rahul Gandhi got the winning formula in 2024
Rahul Gandhi had found the formula to defeat the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. Rahul had changed the political game of Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha elections on the issue of Constitution and reservations. Of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, the Indian Alliance managed to win 30 seats. The Congress had won a maximum of 13 seats. BJP has reduced from 22 to 8. The Congress has drawn up a plan to reflect this mantra of its victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections too. Rahul may also raise the issue of conducting a caste census in Nagapur Maharashtra to help the Dalit and OBC castes.
Congress’ morale is high after winning the Maharashtra political battle in the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress had won more seats only from Vidarbha belt and Marathwada region. The Congress is also focusing on these areas in the 2024 assembly elections and is trying to resolve the caste equation. Nagpur district falls under Vidarbha, which is considered quite favorable for the Congress. There are a large number of Dalit voters in Vidarbha and the Congress has the maximum number of seats in this region. That is why the Congress is paying special attention to Vidarbha.
Congress’s political connection with Nagpur
Nagpur may be the headquarters of the RSS, but it holds a special place for the Congress. During the party session in Nagpur in 1920, Mahatma Gandhi had announced the non-cooperation movement against the British. It was here that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was elected Congress President in 1959. The Congress was strong in the Vidarbha belt. The start of the Assembly election campaign in Nagpur is considered a special part of the Congress’ election strategy. In this way, the Congress is trying to regain its lost political base and, on the other hand, has a strategy to directly challenge the BJP and the Sangh.
The Congress is trying to send a message that it wants to attack from the place where the BJP’s agenda is decided and the BJP is responding to it in its own style. Just look at how long Rahul Gandhi’s Nagpur document can take. wait, but there is no doubt that by choosing Nagpur he has definitely managed to boost the morale of the Congress cadre.
Uddhav Thackeray will make electoral noise from Shinde bastion
Uddhav Thackeray will start the election campaign on November 5, a day before Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge’s programme. Uddhav Thackeray will make electoral noise from Ratnagiri district of Konkan region. Uddhav Thackeray will participate in a total of 25 election rallies in Maharashtra between November 5 and 17. During this time, he will also hold rallies for Congress candidates and Sharad Pawar’s NCP party along with Shiv Sena (UBT). Uddhav Thackeray has chosen the Konkan area for Mission-Maharashtra, which has been his stronghold. From CM Eknath Shinde to Narayan Rane they have dominance in these areas. In such a situation, Uddhav Thackeray has adopted the strategy of directly challenging his opponent by campaigning from his stronghold.
The Konkan region of Maharashtra has 39 assembly seats. Big cities like Raigarh and Ratnagiri are located in this area. The Konkan region has been a former stronghold of the Shiv Sena, but after Shinde’s split, Uddhav Thackeray now faces the challenge of resetting his politics. Both Shinde and Narayan Rane, who were the faces of Shiv Sena in the Konkan belt, are with BJP. Most of the Shiv Sainiks who left Uddhav and went with Shinde were from this area. In a way, the entire election in Konkan is Shiv Sena versus Shiv Sena. That is why Uddhav Thackeray wants to directly challenge Shinde by starting the election campaign from Konkan.
