Rahul Gandhi: UP loss my fault, I will continue to work for UP

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday put up a brave face despite his party’s poor performance in the Assembly elections held in five states, including Uttar Pradesh.

Rahul, who had led the Congress’ campaign in Uttar Pradesh, said, “First of all, I congratulate Mulayam Singhji and Akhileshji, people of Uttar Pradesh supported them.”

“I had led the campaign, I was standing in the front, and it is my responsibility. We fought, fought hard but results are not encouraging,” he told reporters who had assembled outside his residence here.

“I had promised the people of UP that I will continue to be seen in the villages and cities of the state… with the farmers, with the poor… my work will continue. I will continue to work for UP,” he added.

“I will try to get the Congress stand up again in UP and (ensure) that we win one day,” Rahul said with a pause.

On the reasons behind the party’s poor performance, Rahul said, “Organisationally we are not where we should be in UP and generally there was a mood in favour of the Samajwadi Party, which is pretty apparent.”

He further opined that the fundamentals of Congress in UP are weak, saying, “We have to get the fundamentals correct. Yes there has been improvement from 2007 but we will have to take it forward.”

“We haven’t done well in the whole of UP; I view my work as working for the people of this country. I will continue to do that,” Rahul said, adding, “I expect victories along the way and I expect defeat too.”

Rahul Gandhi: Assembly results major blow for Congres

Congress leaders admitted they were stunned as results from five state elections showed the party faced defeats in Punjab and Goa and a poor showing in Uttar Pradesh.

The Congress was on top in Uttarakhand but short of an outright majority. The only good news came from Manipur, where the Congress was set to sweep and retain power.

Congress leaders quickly rushed to insulate their star campaigner in Uttar Pradesh and general secretary Rahul Gandhi from criticism, saying that a wide variety of factors were to blame for the multiple disaster.

"We are very surprised, we are shocked," Congress leader and Minister of State for Science and Technology Ashwani Kumar said.

"This calls for very serious reflection and introspection on what went wrong," he added, disappointment writ large on his face.

But he said that the Uttar Pradesh and other state verdicts "are a reflection of how people view various political parties in their states".

Congress chief spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi was downcast.

The results in Punjab, where the Akali Dal-BJP combine is set to retain power, a first in the state for any ruling party, were "extremely baffling", he said.

"I am very disappointed," he added, commenting on the overall outcome of the February-March polling in Manipur, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Goa.

Political pundits and opposition activists heaped scorn on the Congress and its leadership.

A Congress source admitted that the results were "a major blow" and were partly a result of the corruption charges faced by the Congress-led government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"There is no doubt that corruption played a big role in voters' thinking," said the source not willing to be identified.

The source said the Congress also blundered by injecting "communal politics" towards the end of campaign in Uttar Pradesh when it promised to reserve special job quotas for Muslims.

Marxist leader Suhasini Ali said the Congress blundered by not projecting anyone as a possible chief minister even as it sought a clear mandate from voters.

"Then the central government's non-performance and price rise are also factors," she said. "As for the 22 Congress MPs who won in 2009, they were a huge disappointment for their electorate."

Sudheendra Kulkarni of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) underlined that there was "a very strong anti-Congress sentiment" in almost all the states that went to the polls.

Congress-turned-Samajwadi Party politician Shahid Siddiqui said the Congress leadership's "ostrich like attitude" and "refusal to learn" from previous mistakes were major factors.

Minister Ashwani Kumar added: "We (Congress) need to strengthen our organisational structure."

Apart from Uttar Pradesh, where Rahul Gandhi's 200-plus election rallies were expected to give the party a major boost, the Congress was also stunned that it was unable to dislodge the Akali-BJP combine in Punjab.

The Congress-led government was expected to be voted out in Goa but was in the reckoning for power in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand, though not in the manner it would have desired.

Insurgency-hit Manipur was its only saving grace, with the Congress-led government getting an emphatic mandate for five more years, decimating a coalition of several opposition parties.

FIR filed against Rahul for road show in Kanpur rally

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was on Monday booked for alleged violation of model code of conduct by UP authorities which said that his road show here had breached the time limit and the roadmap set by them.

District Magistrate Hari Om said that an FIR has been filed against Rahul and city Congress chief Mahesh Dikshit who have been booked under Section 188 of IPC for violating prohibitory orders (Section 144) imposed in the city and under Sections 283 (danger or obstruction in public way) and 290 (public nuisance).

"The district administration had allocated time till noon and fixed a 20-km route for Rahul Gandhi's road show but Rahul Gandhi violated it and stretched it beyond permitted time. He also did not stick to the prescribed route for the event," the DM said.

However, state Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who was part of the road show, denied there was any violation of the model code of conduct and accused the district administration of trying to stop Rahul's mass contact programme at the behest of the Mayawati government.

"The party has apprised the Election Commission about the action of the district administration," she said.

Kanpur MP and Union Minister Sri Prakash Jaiswal dared the authorities to file an FIR against him. "I had invited Rahul Gandhi for the roadshow. Let the authorities file an FIR against me," he told reporters.

The DM claimed that the road show organisers had sought permission for a 38-km stretch but they had been informed last night about the conditions. "The district administration had fixed a 20-km route for Rahul Gandhi's road show as today is Shivratri and there could be a traffic problem.

"Still they violated the rules and chose to follow the route for which permission had not been granted," he said, adding, "There could have been a security breach or a clash".

Joshi, however, countered that the detailed programme of the Congress general secretary, including the route, was handed over to the district administration by the district unit well in advance and was also cleared by the SPG.

"The administration, however, revised the programme last night and sent it to the SPG," she claimed.

She said that as the people had already been informed about the entire programme, it was not possible to carry out last minute changes.

"During the entire mass contact programme neither Rahul Gandhi addressed a meeting, nor did he take out any procession. Therefore, he has not violated the model conde of conduct," the state Congress president claimed.

She alleged that the Mayawati government was "nervous and shaken" after the "success" of Rahul's road show in Lucknow.

The road show began at the Circuit House this morning and crossed through all the five assembly segments here with people standing on both sides of the roads to greet the leader.

Rahul's road show was, however, shown black flags by youths belonging to some Muslim groups in Baghai area of the Cantonment. They were shouting slogans of 'Rahul, go back'.

In Muslim-dominated Chunnigang area, people welcomed him by showering flowers while the Congress leader garlanded an Ambedkar statue in Bajaria area.

Kanpur will go to polls in the fifth phase of February 23.

Rahul Gandhi’s Kanpur roadshow lands in controversy

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi landed himself in a controversy over his roadshow in Kanpur after district officials raised objections over flouting of rules.

Kanpur District Magistrate (DM), Hari Om said, “Only 20 kilometers permission was given to Rahul Gandhi’s roadshow and was supposed to be started from circuit house in Kanpur. However, Rahul Gandhi started off his roadshow from the airport itself.”

“It is clear violation of model code of conduct. We will take action according to the law,” the DM said.

“Section 144 is implied in the city, which has also been violated.”

Taking view of the heavy traffic on the proposed route, an alternative route was suggested, the DM said.

“The route was changed as Rahul Gandhi’s security is a major concern and the route which Congress party workers had asked for is expected to witness huge traffic today. Due to Mahashivaratri festival huge number of people would visit the temples located along the route and the paramilitary forces meant for the polls will also be taking the same route. So keeping in view all this aspects we had suggested them the alternative route,” the DM said.

Laying rest to all speculations that Congress party workers had first got the permission for the 35 kms route and later the district administration backing out, Hari Om said, “we have given the orders in writing.”

UP polls: Rahul, BJP President Gadkari head to Kanpur

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi who has been campaigning hard for the 2012 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls is scheduled to hold a rally in Kanpur on today.

The Congress MP will have a busy day as roadshow and various meetings are included in his schedule.

Union Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said, "Rahul Gandhi's campaign programme in Kanpur is confirmed. He will takeout a roadshow in support of the party candidates."

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari will also be seen today in Kanpur where he is scheduled to address people in support of his party candidates.

Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav will be campaigning in Auraiya district in Uttar Pradesh today.

Kanpur will go to polls on February 23, the fifth phase of voting in Uttar Pradesh.

UP assembly polls: 20 percent turnout in four hours

Balloting proceeded briskly and steadily on today with more than 20 percent of the 1.77 crore voters exercising their franchise in the first four hours of the third round of the Uttar Pradesh elections in 56 assembly constituencies.

Till 11 am, 20.51 percent of the electorate had turned up to vote, officials said. Polling started at 7 am.

Chief Electoral Officer Umesh Sinha said he was confident that polling would go far higher than the 42.6 percent turnout in the last assembly elections in 2007.

Among the districts going to the polls on Wednesday are the high profile Amethi (re-christened as Chattrapati Shahuji Maharaj Nagar), the parliamentary seat of Congress star campaigner Rahul Gandhi. Elections are also being held in the other Gandhi family bastion Sultanpur as well the traditional Nehru-Gandhi home Allahabad.

Among the other districts going to the polls are Varanasi, Jaunpur, Mirzapur, Bhadohi (renamed Sant Ravidas Nagar), Kaushambhi, Sonbhadra and Chandauli - most of which are situated along the banks of the Ganga river.

The fate of 1,018 candidates for the 56 seats is being determined by 1.77 crore voters at 18,374 polling stations, where 31,400 electronic voting machines are in place.

Long queues were reported from most of the places, including Amethi, where people were seen making a beeline for polling booths well before 7 am.

The voter turnout was, however, stated to be relatively low in some areas as Mirzapur, Chandauli and Sonbhadra, bordering Madhya Pradesh, where Maoists have a considerable presence.

Besides Maoists, the presence of a number of candidates with criminal backgrounds has prompted the Election Commission to deploy additional police force in the sensitive areas.

Nearly 31 percent of candidates fielded by political parties for the third phase have criminal cases pending against them.

According to a report of the National Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms, no political party has refrained from fielding those with criminal antecedents.

Samajwadi Party (SP) tops the list with 24 of its 48 nominees having several criminal cases pending against them. The Congress party has 14 of 48, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has 13 of 47, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) 12 of 49, Janata Dal-United six of 24, Bundelkhand Congress four of 13, Peace Party two of 12 and Apna Dal has one out of six who have criminal background.

The seven-phase elections began Feb 8 and end March 3. The votes will be counted March 6.

Rahul Gandhi: I want to change UP. 2012 elections

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi said on toay that he is not concerned about win or loss in the high-stakes assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh (UP) as his only aim is to restore honour of the people of the state.

Addressing a press conference here, on the last day of campaigning for the 1st phase of polls due to be held on Feb 8, Rahul said, “In the past few months I have learnt, probably, what I learnt in last seven years. I have learnt what it means to be passionately believer in an idea.”

“Frankly I am not concerned about what the results are…what has been going on in UP in the last 22 years is a crime. It is our duty to not accept the misrule and the type of games being played with the people of this state,” he said, adding, “I have realised the power of the people the state. I have realised that this state can stand on its feet very soon.”

“Mission 2012 is not my line…my mission is not to change UP, I want to change UP. 2012 elections, then 2014 elections, Rahul Gandhi will not step backward till the UP stands on its feet,” he stressed.

When asked by a scribe whether he was conceding defeat by talking about ‘being not concerned about election results’, he said, “I am not conceding defeat, I am conceding victory. The results will be solid for the Congress. People of UP are looking at Congress seriously, wherever I go the people are saying this to me. “

“Be it 200 (seats), 400 or 2, till the time people of UP don’t get respect I will be here. We are here not to form alliances with political parties, we will form alliances only with the people of UP,” he added.

UP polls: First phase of campaigning ends today

The politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh is expected to witness intense electioneering on today as the campaigning for the first phase of assembly elections ends this evening.

In a bid to woo voters before the first phase of voting, top leaders of all major political parties will tour the length and breadth of the state and address election rallies.

According to reports, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi will address meetings and rallies across different districts including Varanasi and Ghazipur. Meanwhile his sister, Priyanka Gandhi will tour Raebareli and Amethi.

Priyanka, while addressing a huge gathering of Congress supporters yesterday defended the government and also her brother saying that Rahul was not in politics to get the Prime Minister's job.

She also backed Home Minister P Chidambaram on the 2G scam case by saying, “As a Home Minister he has huge responsibility and I feel sad when he has to respond to the rants of the people who are not concerned with the issue that he has to deal with."

Separately, BSP chief and Chief Minister Mayawati is scheduled to address rallies in Kushinagar and Gorakhpur.

In the recent past, both Congress and BSP have locked themselves in a tough duel in the run up to the assembly polls, which is by and large being seen as a four-cornered contest with Samajwadi Party and the BJP as the other two key players.

The assembly elections in UP are being seen as a litmus test for Congress leader and youth icon Rahul Gandhi, who has launched an aggressive campaign against the Mayawati government.

The 40-year-old Gandhi scion has toured the entire state in the past one year, assiduously working towards reviving the party's lost fortunes. The Congress had won eight Lok Sabha seats out of the 22 in 2009 in same constituencies that go to polls on Wednesday. With Congress emerging as the main challenger to the ruling BSP, many have linked the poll results - win or loss - to Rahul Gandhi's electoral credibility.

Besides Congress and BSP, the BJP too is not sparing any effort to woo voters in order to seize power in Uttar Pradesh. BJP senior leader LK Advani will address a rally in Lucknow today.

BJP President Nitin Gadkari will be addressing rallies in Balia and Ghazipur and BJP star campaigner Uma Bharti will woo voters in Gonda, Siddharth Nagar and Faizabad.

On February 8, 55 assembly seats across 10 districts in UP will witness voting in the first phase.

BJP leader dares Rahul to become PM

With just over a week before polls begin in Uttar Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today took on Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi. Throwing down the gauntlet at the young Gandhi scion, senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad dared him to become the Prime Minister.

"Let Rahul Gandhi become the Prime Minister for once. Two years are left. Let the country also realise the capability he has to run this country and the understanding he possesses of the country's problems," Mr Prasad said.

Taking a dig at the young Congress leader, Mr Prasad further said that in order to become the PM, all that Rahul Gandhi needed to do was to ask Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to step aside.

Mr Prasad's comments come in the wake of a tough four-cornered contest in UP where the Congress led by Rahul Gandhi has emerged as a serious contender to stake claim to power in the state. The 40-year-old leader has aggressively campaigned in the state, often targeting the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party government over issues of corruption and land acquisition. More recently, the Congress' controversial move to carve out a sub-quota for backward Muslims from the existing 27% reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) is being viewed as a political masterstroke given the electoral significance of the community in the state. Muslims constitute a sizeable section of UP's electorate - 18% to be precise. The minority quota move has been vehemently opposed by the BJP which has dubbed it as divisive and has promised to scrap it if voted to power.

Meanwhile, the Congress, scoffing at the BJP's remarks on Rahul Gandhi, said that it was a sign of surrender by the saffron party which had resigned to the reality of the Congress coming back to power.

"They have admitted the reality. After all, they understand that the Congress will come back to power at the Centre in 2014 and in Uttar Pradesh in 2012. They cannot stop or change it, no matter what they say to the nation," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said.

As both parties engage in a verbal duel over Rahul-as-PM, the man himself has consciously shied away from taking up any position in the government. He, instead, has focussed on strengthening the party at the grassroots level as also re-energising the youth wing. More significantly, he has been assiduously working to revive the Congress' fortunes in Uttar Pradesh - a state which, with its 80 MPs in Lok Sabha, clearly holds the key to power at the Centre. Congress leaders though have, on several occasions, voiced their support for Mr Gandhi to assume a larger role in the working of the government and have openly backed him as the party's choice for the prime minister's post.

Rahul Gandhi: Amarinder Singh would be the next Chief Minister of Punjab

In an unusual move, Punjab PCC Chief Amarinder Singh was today projected as the Chief Ministerial candidate of the Congress by the party's general secretary Rahul Gandhi.

"Amarinder will become the Chief Minister if the Congress is voted to power by your (electorate) support," Mr Gandhi told an election rally in Ferozepur.

The announcement, which the party rarely does before elections, comes less than a week ahead of the January 30 Assembly elections which are expected to witness a keen tussle between the Congress and the Akali Dal-BJP combine.

Amarinder Singh is a former Chief Minister and has been the frontrunner for the post since he was made the PCC President. Former Chief Minister and state CLP leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal is another aspirant.

The development is significant as the Congress has not projected any Chief Ministerial candidate in the four poll-bound states including Uttar Pradesh. This is despite the fact that Ibobi Singh of Manipur has been seeking to commit a hat-trick after remaining the Chief Minister for 10 long years. Digambar Kamat has been the Chief Minister of the Congress-led coalition in Goa.

Interestingly, Mr Gandhi's announcement came on a day when the party high command seeking to avoid any dissensions on the leadership issue in Uttar Pradesh dismissed suggestions that it has decided on any Chief Ministerial candidate before elections.

The statement from the Congress central leadership came close on the heels of reports from Pratapgarh where Union Minister Salman Khurshid indicated last night that the state Congress Legislature Party leader Pramod Tewari could play a bigger role after elections.

Shoe attack on Rahul Gandhi in Uttarakhand

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Monday joined the burgeoning list of political figures that have had a shoe hurled at them. The Amethi MP, who kicked off his campaign in Uttarakhand at Vikas Nagar near Dehradun, was unfazed as a 35-year-old man identified as Kuldeep Singh hurled a shoe at the dais. It landed 10 metres short of the target.

When the shoe was hurled at Congress general secretary, most partymen on the dais got rattled.

However, Rahul looked calm and said, "Leave the man and let him throw more shoes at me." He then urged the cops, who immediately bundled the shoe-thrower into a police van, not to arrest him without asking him why he did so. In fact, just as the security personnel grabbed Kuldeep, Rahul was heard saying, "Don't hit him."

DIG (Garhwal) Sanjay Gunjyal told TOI that Kuldeep was arrested, adding that he introduced himself as a supporter of Baba Ramdev who works as a salesman at one of his ayurvedic outlets.

Gunjyal said Kuldeep confessed he had hurled the shoe in protest against UPA's opening court cases against Ramdev after his campaign against black money.

J&K CM Omar Abdullah said he approved of Rahul's reaction. "I like Rahul's reaction to the shoe throwing: 'Phenko, phenko, ek aur phenko' (throw, throw one more)," tweeted.

Priyanka Gandhi on entering politics

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday said she was open to the idea of campaigning for the party in election-bound Uttar Pradesh and "will do anything to help my brother" Rahul Gandhi.

"I am here in Amethi and Rae Bareli. My brother and I will talk to each other. I will do anything to help my brother. I will do whatever he requires me to do," Priyanka, 40, told reporters in Amethi - Rahul's Parliamentary constituency - when asked if she would campaign with him.

She has been overseeing Congress election preparations in Amethi and Rae Bareli but has not actively participated in campaigning. However, she said she was open to the idea of campaigning if Rahul asked her to do so.

"I have not decided yet. For now I am going to oversee elections in these 10 constituencies which fall within our Parliamentary constituency. If Rahul wants me to campaign, I will campaign," Priyanka said.

Asked if she would join active politics if Rahul so wants, Priyanka eluded a direct reply saying: "He knows to what extent he requires me."

She arrived in Amethi on Monday from New Delhi in a chartered aircraft which landed at an airstrip at the Indira Gandhi Flying Academy in Fursatganj, about 35 km from here.

Women supporters shouted slogans of "Priyanka Gandhi, Zindabad" to cheer her up.

Voting for the 403-member state Assembly is to be held in a seven-phase schedule between February 8 and March 3.

Five-day election tour of Rahul Gandhi will end today

After attacking the ruling BSP government in Uttar Pradesh and targeting the opposition BJP in the past few days, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi will on Friday hold a rally in Saharanpur.

Saharanpur rally will mark the end of Rahul Gandhi’s five-day election tour of Uttar Pradesh, where Assembly Elections will be held between February 4 to 28.

Addressing a rally in Pilibhit on Thursday, the Congress leader made a scathing attack on BJP as the district is the political turf of his cousin Varun Gandhi, who is the Lok Sabha member from that constituency.

While accusing the BJP of making only "false and hollow promises", with the sole intent of serving its short-term political gains, Rahul Gandhi appealed to the people to vote for the Congress which alone could insure a bright future for them.

"While the BJP's unreliable character was known to all, it was once again amply demonstrated in the Lok Sabha Tuesday, when in sharp contrast to its earlier categorical assurance, the party declined to support the Lokpal bill," he said.

In Bareilly, Gandhi also chose to take on the Samajwadi Party. "Ever since the UPA government has announced 4.5 percent reservation for Muslims, Mulayam Singh Yadav has become jittery, which is reflected in his new found demand for raising the Muslim reservation to 18 percent," he said.

Terming it as Mulayam Singh's "lip service", he said, "I would like to see if Mulayam Singh Yadav is going to endorse this in his party's election manifesto."

He earlier flayed Uttar Pradesh Chief MInister and Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati for perpetuating large-scale corruption, which he termed as the cause of Uttar Pradesh's backwardness and poverty.

PM, Sonia to attend Youth Cong meet today

After successfully carrying out elections for the first time in the Youth Congress, Rahul Gandhi will address to the Gen Next party activists on Monday.

Rahul will speak to the newly-elected office bearers of the Youth Congress here at the first-ever convention of the body in the backdrop of Assembly polls to five states, including Uttar Pradesh.

Gandhi will be inaugurating the convention of the 8,000- odd elected members from across the country at a time when the UPA-II has just completed its mid-term and is poised for future challenges.

The two-day convention beginning today is also being addressed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi during the valedictory session on Tuesday. They are expected to touch upon the current political issues during their speech.

The convention titled 'Buniyaad' (foundation) is the first major programme of the party after Rahul Gandhi started playing a larger role in the organisation in the wake of his mother's illness.

In fact, the convention is the brainchild of Rahul, the General Secretary in-charge of Youth Congress, who has been insisting that all office bearers should be called to the capital for a discussion with senior leaders and among themselves.

The two-day convention at Japanese Park, first of its kind in the history of Youth Congress, comes ahead of Assembly Elections to five states, including the politically-crucial Uttar Pradesh, where Gandhi is leading the campaign charge.

"All the 8,000 people who will be participating in the convention have been democratically-elected by Youth Congress workers. The conference has been convened so that they get a forum to discuss the political situation and other issues as a group," a close aide of Gandhi told reporters

The aide, who has been involved in Youth Congress activities for the past 10 years, said the office-bearers would also be told about the political stand of the party on various issues.

"Youth Congress office-bearers from all states would be represented at the conference. So they will get a chance to interact among themselves. He (Rahul) wanted such a convention," he said.

Senior Ministers like Pranab Mukherjee, A K Antony, Mukul Wasnik and Jairam Ramesh are also expected to address the convention and impart lessons to the office-bearers, sources said.

Rahul has been personally touring the country and conducting membership drives to strengthen the party's youth wing. He has also brought in election system to elect office bearers and Presidents of state Youth Congress units.

This is the first time that such a convention of the Youth Congress will be held, the sources said, adding that the idea was mooted by Rahul.

The convention is likely to adopt resolutions on pressing issues like inflation, the sources said.