With only four months remaining before the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections, political rallies and election speculation are gaining momentum in the state. In this flurry of political activity, Priyanka Gandhi, a key figure of the Congress party, visited Gwalior today.
In an unusual move, prior to her rally, she paid respects at the samadhi (memorial) of Rani Lakshmibai, becoming the first member of the Gandhi family to do so. The highlight of the rally was the Congress party’s reintroduction of the ‘five guarantees’ strategy that was previously implemented in Karnataka.
Addressing a public gathering of approximately 50,000 people, Priyanka Gandhi elucidated the five guarantees of the Congress party for the forthcoming elections:
- Every woman will receive a monthly stipend of one hundred rupees
- Cooking gas cylinders will be made available at fifty rupees
- Up to a thousand units of electricity will be free, and the bill for two hundred units of electricity will be halved
- The old pension scheme will be reintroduced in Madhya Pradesh
- Incomplete farmer loan waivers from the previous government will be fulfilled
The choice of Gwalior as the venue for this rally is noteworthy. In the 2018 assembly elections, the Gwalior-Chambal region, comprising 34 seats, played a significant role in the Congress party’s victory, where they won 26 seats. This led to the formation of a Congress-led government in Madhya Pradesh. However, due to disagreements over power and organisational matters, Jyotiraditya Scindia, a prominent Congress leader from the region, defected to the BJP, leading to the fall of the Congress government.
With her presence in Gwalior, Priyanka Gandhi aims to counter the influence of Jyotiraditya Scindia and offer a new hope to the Congress supporters. She criticised Scindia’s sudden change in ideology and vowed to answer back. Priyanka Gandhi is focusing on crucial local issues to mark her presence in the 34 seats of the Gwalior region.
Despite the challenge of filling the gap left by Scindia, the Congress party is banking on Priyanka Gandhi to revive its fortunes. However, it remains to be seen whether the Gwalior-Chambal region will deliver as many seats to the Congress as it did in the last election.