Congress to bank on 'Ram' to win MP

Bhopal: The Congress is planning to hijack Hindutva plank from BJP in year-end assembly elections Madhya Pradesh by undertaking Ram-Gaman-Path Yatra campaign along the route, believed to have been traversed by the protagonist of epic Ramayan during his exile.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to kick off the two-day yatra, tentatively on September 27, a spokesman of the party told this newspaper here on Wednesday.

The yatra was scheduled to begin on September 13, but it was deferred tentatively to September 27 for some unavoidable reasons, he added.

The main attraction of the yatra will be the decorated chariot resembling the one used in the Ramanand Sagar’s epic TV serial Ramayan, to be used in the campaign.

Mr Gandhi would kick off the campaign by boarding on the ‘rath’ or chariot, the spokesman said.

Sources said Mr Gandhi may be portrayed as Lord Ram carrying a bow and arrow while mounting the chariot.

“This will leave a very positive impact on the masses”, he added.

Mr Gandhi may also announce to develop the route as tourism circuit if Congress returned to power in MP in the forthcoming assembly elections. Interestingly, the move by Congress seems to have alarmed ruling BJP. “The Centre has already declared to develop Chitrakoot belt covering parts of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh which was traversed by Lord Ram as religious tourism circuit,” a BJP leader said.