Nagpur or Patna: I.N.D.I.A bloc yet to decide on first rally venue

I.N.D.I.A bloc is yet to take a final call on where to hold its first joint public rally with allies tossing up on the idea of holding it either in Nagpur or Patna after their initial plans to hold it in Bhopal came a cropper.

The bloc intends to hold the first rally soon after Dussehra and before Diwali though last month it had decided to hold its first public meeting in the first week of October.

For the past three weeks, there has been no forward movement in the I.N.D.I.A bloc especially after Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Kamal Nath made it clear that state Congress cannot play host for the rally during the election season. 

With the ‘Maha Gadbandhan’ government in Bihar revealing the caste data in the state, there is a clamour among a section of the ‘Mandal’ and Left parties that the first rally should be held in Patna under the leadership of JD(U) and RJD to send an unambiguous message on the issue.

However, sources said Congress is keen on having the first rally to be held under its leadership and suggests Nagpur as the likely venue where they could highlight the attack on the secular fabric of the country. Trinamool Congress is also not keen on highlighting ‘Caste Census’ as one of the main planks of the bloc owing to local Bengal politics.

With the party taking up the issue seriously with Rahul Gandhi as its mascot, the party does not want to share the limelight. The party is also finalising the strategy on its social justice plank during the Congress Working Committee meeting in Delhi on Monday.

It has already announced that the Karnataka government would release the caste data soon while its government in Rajasthan will be holding a caste survey. Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi has promised a caste survey in Chhattisgarh once Congress returns to power and Randeep Surjewala similarly in Madhya Pradesh. 

Last Friday, NCP chief Sharad Pawar held a 40-minute-long meeting with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi where the issue of reigniting vigour into the bloc was discussed. 

CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury has also had interactions with the Congress leadership on this issue. In late September, Yechury also held a meeting with Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) top leader Nitish Kumar and RJD patriarch Lalu Prasad in Patna.

The I.N.D.I.A bloc had earlier indicated that it wanted to hold five rallies in Patna, Nagpur, Chennai, Guwahati and Delhi on specific themes. Patna was chosen to highlight the social justice plank, especially caste census, while in Nagpur, the seat of RSS, they wanted to highlight the attack on India’s secular ethos.

The Guwahati rally was aimed at highlighting Manipur violence and issues of the northeast while Chennai was slated for bringing to the fore the deteriorating Centre-state relations. The plan was to hold the final rally in Delhi where the agenda of the bloc would be unveiled with a focus on the common man’s problem.

At the September 13 meeting of the Coordination Committee of I.N.D.I.A bloc, Bhopal was chosen as the first venue. However, wary of the ‘Sanatan Dharma’ debate taking a toll on Congress’ campaign in Madhya Pradesh, its senior leader unilaterally announced that the rally will not take place in Bhopal.