Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will also hold an interaction with female tea workers in Assam (File)
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will visit poll-bound Assam tomorrow to campaign for her party. During her two-day visit, she will be travelling to several districts on the north bank of the Brahmaputra river, where the BJP and its ally, the AGP, have a strong presence. Her first stop, however, will be Guwahati, where she will visit the Kamakhya temple to offer prayers on behalf of the party. She will then fly to Lakhimpur to start the poll campaign.
The upper Assam that witnessed intense protests during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act stir — a two-month-long agitation against the law in December 2019 – has become electorally crucial, with the BJP announcing development projects in view of the upcoming elections. In the region, the Congress banks on public resentment against the law.
After three consecutive visits by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to this region, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s visit is expected to give momentum to the opposition’s campaign.
According to the planned itinerary, Ms Vadra is set to visit four legislative assemblies — Lakhimpur and Bihpuria in Lakhimpur district, Gohpur, Biswanath district headquarters and Tezpur district headquarters. She will attend party meetings, lead a protest rally and hold several public rallies.
The Congress in Assam had started an “anti-CAA Gamosa” campaign initiated by Priyanka’s brother, Rahul Gandhi, during his visit earlier this month. People were asked to send in signed Gamosa, an Assamese traditional cloth. Party insiders said the most support came from people in upper Assam.
Ms Vadra will launch an indoor-protest for unemployed youths in Lakhimpur and visit two shrines — Mahadev’s Janmasthan in Letekupukhuri and Madhabdev’s Janmasthan in Rangajan, Bihpuria. She will also hold a meeting with women labourers in Gohpur after paying homage to Majabhairav temple in Tezpur and a mega rally at Hazarpar Stadium in Tezpur.
She will also hold an interaction with female tea workers in Sadhary Tea Estate in Biswanath.
Her visit will counter PM Modi’s series of visits to upper Assam. He visited the state thrice in February alone during which he laid the foundation stones of two medical colleges and two engineering colleges, gave over 1.6 lakh land pieces to indigenous people and inaugurated at least nine oil and gas projects.