With the first phase of 2019 Lok Sabha elections around the corner, political parties are busy announcing candidates for the polls so they can start campaigning on the ground. The Congress has also released its star campaigners list comprising 40 candidates in Uttar Pradesh.
As the Lok Sabha elections commence on April 11, 2019, Congress, with very little time in hand to woo voters, has narrowed down on these 40 names in Uttar Pradesh who, according to the grand old party, will be the faces of the party to seek votes.
Gujarat youth leader Hardik Patel, former deputy CM of Bihar and Rashtriya Janata Dal head, Tejashawi Yadav, the much controversial Punjab Minister, Navjot Singh Sindhu, former PM Manmohan Singh, UP Congress President Raj Babbar, and many others along with the members of the Gandhi dynasty, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have been fielded as the star campaigners of the party.
Though undoubtedly the Congress has put together the best men in its army to enthrall the voters before the Lok Sabha elections, let us discuss the names in the list and the achievements and incidents that have made them grab headlines.
Rahul Gandhi:
The out on bail, party supremo himself has an extremely intriguing achievement list. Only recently, OpIndia broke the story about Rahul Gandhi and his dubious land deals. Moreover, the National Herald scam is one of the most notable legal cases in Indian history, as Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi are directly accused of it. Both are currently on bail.
Apart from having his name attributed to various scams, Rahul’s temperament has often been exposed in the way he conducts himself. His penchant for lying and distorting facts have often laid exposed.
With a remarkable frequency, Rahul Gandhi has spread one lie after another about the Rafale deal, often repeating the lies over and over again. It has led to speculations that it might have had something to do with the fact that he has links with arms dealers who were lobbying for the Rafale jet’s competitors.
Rahul had recently claimed that Narendra Modi had been filming in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack while he had canceled all his appointments. His futile claims were, however, defined when we reported that it was not the PM but he himself who was spotted dancing shortly after the Pulwama terror attack. As the prince has almost made up his mind to fight this election on the basis of falsehood, he has been concocting one lie after the other or rather repeating the same lies over and over again to woo his voters.
Mallikarjun Kharge:
A Congress loyalist who has been fielded as a star campaigner by his party has been accused of corruption charges. Kharge has been accused of amassing property in excess of 50,000 crores. The wealth has been amassed during his tenure as revenue minister as per the complaint. He is also accused of lying under oath while filing his election affidavit. The investigations on the corruption charges have not made progress as the Karnataka government under Siddaramaiah had clipped the wings of the Lokayukta.
Raj Babbar:
Another feather on the Congress’ cap has often made it to the headlines for his controversial remarks. Raj Babbar had sparked controversy during a press conference held in Raipur when he had said Naxals had launched a “revolution” which cannot be stopped through guns, and the menace should be resolved through talks.
Further, crossing all levels of basic humanity, the Congress leader had dragged the Prime Minister’s aged mother into his party’s dirty quirks. Exhibiting his party’s ideologies Raj Babbar had also called the Prime Minister ‘Manhoos’ (ominous) over the rising fuel prices.
Ghulam Nabi Azad:
The controversial leader who has been captured swaying between ‘Muslim appeasement‘ and Rahul Gandhi’s garb of ‘soft Hindutva’ hit the heights of flippancy claiming that the Army operations kill more civilians than terrorists in Kashmir. Azad also claimed that the NDA government was planning a massacre in Kashmir.
Following Congress’ etiquettes, Azad had also tried to de-emphasize Modi Government persistent efforts to bring back fugitive Nirav Modi to India, by saying that Nirav Modi’s arrest was an attempt by the NDA government to win the Lok Sabha Elections. Moreover, Ghulam Nabi Azad, furthering his party rhetorics had gone on to insult PM Modi by using the ‘Vansh’ jibe against him.
Kamal Nath:
Congress’s loyalist Kamal Nath as widely known for continuing the Congress’ legacy of divisive caste politics. There have been several reports suggesting that Kamal Nath has been directly involved in developing the ‘Hindu-Terror’ narrative and playing communal politics.
Moreover, the deep-seated caste politics which runs in the ‘United Opposition’ had been further exposed when last year in his letter to Rahul Gandhi, he had asked him to attend an event to mark the death anniversary of a prominent OBC leader to score political brownie points. His name also has been involved in the 1984 Sikh genocide. He is accused of leading a violent mob to attack Gurudwara Rakabganj on November 1, 1984, where a Sikh father and son duo were killed.
Bhupesh Baghel:
Congress leader and Chhattisgarh CM elect Bhupesh Baghel who is currently out on bail in a sex CD case had also stoked controversy after he unfurled an old flag of pre-1947 Indian National Congress instead of hoisting the National flag of the country on the occasion of the 2019 Republic Day.
The unfurling of a political flag at a National event by a person serving the highest office of the state attracted huge criticism as it was an alleged attempt to demean the National symbols of the country.
Navjot Singh Sidhu:
Navjot Singh Sidhu has proudly been a part of several controversies and has hit several lows in his political association with the grand old party. In recent months, Navjot Singh Sidhu has been making extremely controversial and disgraceful remarks for which his party has been facing severe criticism. First, when he traveled to Pakistan for Imran Khan’s swearing-in ceremony and hugged the Pakistan Army’s chief followed by his enthusiasm during the Kartarpur inauguration.
Then, Sidhu posed with a Khalistani terrorist for a photograph during his Kartarpur visit. It wasn’t all, Sidhu lied blatantly that Rahul Gandhi had sent him to Pakistan after asserting it himself that he went there at the Congress President’s behest. Moreover, Siddhu appears to head the list of leader’s who, following Congress’ great tradition, deride the Indian government and security forces while glorifying Pakistanis.
Recently, breaking his own records of indecency, Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu could be heard saying in one of his rallies “Chowkidar Chor Hai” (The Watchmen is a thief, while referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi) and went on to add, “Chowkidar ka Kutta bhi chor hai” while appearing to refer to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Imran Masood:
Former Uttar Pradesh MLA from the Congress party, Imran Masood, who had allegedly threatened to “chop Narendra Modi into pieces” ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections who was declared to be a part of the Congress party’s Election committee in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections has now also been floated as a star campaigner for the Congress party.
Hardik Patel:
Hardik Patel rose to grab headlines during the Patidar agitation. He is convicted by a Gujarat court on the charges of vandalism and rioting. Patel has also found himself in multiple controversial CDs, something that was recently allegedly celebrated by the official website of Gujarat Congress. With a long list of criminal charges against him, it looks like Patel fits remarkably well with other Congress leaders.
Tejaswi Yadav: Bihar’s former deputy CM and Lalu Yadav’s son has lately been the functional voice and face of RJD. As RJD and Congress are in a pre-poll alliance, he also features in the list of star campaigners for Congress in UP. Tejaswi Yadav and his family are under probe over the IRCTC scam.
Yadav had clung to the state government bungalow rather tightly even after losing the post of the deputy CM. However, his attempts were thwarted and he was ordered to vacate the bungalow recently. The Yadav family is also facing probe for benami properties.
The list is, however, never-ending, as most of these candidates flaunt a controversial, and in many cases, criminal past. Congress’ culture and its ecosystem are such that it proudly backs all these individuals who either have a shady past or have been part of criminal or controversial activities. From playing caste-based politics, concocting narratives to insulting the Prime Minister of the country, Congress has been indulging in all these dirty tricks to regain power.
