The maiden speech by the newly appointed Congress Vice
President Rahul Gandhi was filled with emotions, determination and clear vision
for the future. The speech came at the end of a day-long All India Congress
Committee (AICC) meeting in Jaipur. There was pin-drop silence for most part as
1,500 people heard him speak. Before that, through the day, he sat to the right
of Sonia Gandhi on the ground on a massive stage, flanked by many senior
Congress leaders, listening keenly to other speakers. The mood in the Congress
has been buoyant since last night when his appointment was announced and
proceedings in the morning were delayed for some minutes as excited AICC
delegates raised slogans in praise of Mr Gandhi, who smiled and raised folded
hands in greeting.
Rahul Gandhi thanked the party for appointing him vice
president; the elevation was endorsed at the Congress' highest decision-making
body, its working committee or the CWC, at the end of a two-day chintan shivir.
It is expected to galvanise party workers after a series of demoralising
electoral setbacks.
The Congress President Sonia Gandhi also has said that the
good presence of youth in the AICC session reflects her party’s commitment
towards the youth. Assembly elections will be held in nine states in 2013,
beginning February when three north-eastern states go to the polls. Elections
will be held this year in crucial Congress-held states like Rajasthan and Delhi
and in states that it hopes to wrest from main rival the BJP, like Karnataka
and Madhya Pradesh.
The day-long AICC
session wraps up the party's deliberations in Jaipur to devise strategy for the
general elections scheduled for 2014; a "Jaipur Declaration" was
adopted by the party. As the head of the Congress' election committee, Rahul Gandhi
has the charge of leading that strategy when the ruling party asks voters for a
third straight shot at power.
No comments:
Post a Comment