The Congress on Thursday launched a mass campaign in Chhattisgarh as part of its new nationwide outreach drive aimed at conveying the party's programmes and policies to people at the grassroots level and take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The 'Haath Se Haath Jodo' campaign was launched by the party just days ahead of the conclusion of Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra in Kashmir. All India Congress Committee (AICC) observer Arun Yadav and the president of party's Chhattisgarh unit, Mohan Markam, jointly launched the state-level campaign from Raipur's Gandhi Maidan, said Congress communication cell chairman Sushil Anand Shukla.
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The campaign was simultaneously launched in 307 block units across the Congress-ruled state and on the first day, the foot march covered a distance of 3,000 km, said Shukla. The Haath Se Haath Jodo campaign will cover 1.80 lakh km across Chhattisgarh in 60 days and a target has been set for party members to march at least 10km a day in each block, he added. On the first day of its launch, the yatra in state capital Raipur covered 12km and Congress workers put up party flags at the houses of workers, said Shukla.
He said the campaign will see participation from senior leaders as well as booth-level workers and they will highlight welfare schemes being run by the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government in the state, where Assembly polls are due by the year-end. Moreover, party workers will seek to "expose" the state BJP's stand on reservation for deprived sections and also highlight the central government's "failures" on multiple fronts like its inability to curb rising prices of fuels, cooking gas, essential commodities and lack of jobs in the country, said the Congress leader.
At the launch of the campaign, AICC observer Yadav said the outreach drive aims to cover every house across the state and spread the message of pro-people works being done by the Chhattisgarh government. Welfare schemes launched by the Congress government in Chhattisgarh are being discussed all over the country, he added. The message of unity, integrity and brotherhood given by Rahul Gandhi through Bharat Jodo Yatra will be conveyed to people at booth-level in Chhattisgarh under the new campaign, said state Congress president Markam.