Congress to counter Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s campaign

Bhopal: Congress on Wednesday firmed up a plan to counter the ongoing “Jan Ashirvad Yatra”, a 51-day poll campaign launched by chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for ruling BJP on July 14 to connect to the masses in the state ahead of year-end elections.

The Opposition party which is striving hard to deny the chief minister a fourth term in the state in the ensuing Assembly elections, slated for November this year, has devised a strategy to negate the impact of the campaign.

“We have decided to hold press conferences at places where the yatra reaches. Press conferences will be held at places falling under the route of the yatra before and after the event” chief spokesperson of Congress here Shobha Ojha said.

Congress will expose the “hollowness” of the chief minister’s claims of his government’s achievements at such press conferences.

The move by the Congress comes in the wake of reports of surging crowds that the yatra has been drawing every passing day, apparently making Congress nervous.

Incidentally, the “Jan Jagaran Yatra”, launched a couple of days after the chief minister kicked off his poll campaign to counter the impact of the Jan Ashirvad Yatra has so far proved to be a non-starter.

Four working presidents of MP Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) have been tasked with leading the Jan Jagaran Yatra of the party.

But, one of them has reportedly taken to the notice of the party leadership that the party’s campaign has so far failed to gain momentum and suggested that it should be led by a charismatic leader of the Congress in the state.