New Delhi, October twenty one : Taking a leaf from the Congress’ 2004 campaign that saw it storming back to power, party vp Rahul Gandhi is focus on rural voters and also the poor – traditionally the core support cluster of the Congress – by focussing the UPA-II government’s financial aid agenda earlier than the 2014 general elections.

The Congress beneath Sonia Gandhi focussed on and benefited from its rural strategy in 2004 at a time once the then ruling BJP was harping on its “India Shining” plank. Since then, the Congress has been devoting substantial attention to the agricultural phase through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee theme in 2006 and also the mammoth Rs.70,000 large integer farm loan waver in 2008, each throughout UPA-I.

As the UPA-II’s term attracts to an in depth, the Congress goes to the folks with its flagship National Food Security Act that aims to supply low cost foodgrain to around 800 million of India’s one.2 billion folks, the most important financial aid initiative within the world.

Simultaneously, it’s conjointly talking concerning the land acquisition act that provides right to honest compensation and rehabilitation to those whose land is removed.

Over the past weeks, Rahul Gandhi has been fastidiously taking the message of the 2 pro-poor and pro-reform laws to the voters whereas addressing rallies, whether or not in assembly poll-bound Rajasthan (Salumbar and Saran), Chhattisgarh (Jagdalpur) and Madhya Pradesh (Shahdol and Gwalior) or in Gujarat (Rajkot) and state (Aligarh and Rampur).

He even created AN emotional pitch whereas addressing a rally in Gwalior wherever he spoke however his mother Sonia Gandhi needed to vote for her pet food bill in parliament despite being unwell.

Experts believe focus on rural India may be a smart electoral strategy for the Congress, whose leadership right from the times of former prime minister Gandhi has been known with pro-poor programmes.

Zoya Hasan, a prof in JNU, told IANS: “It may be a smart strategy to specialise in deprived sections. they have to specialise in rural poor and highlight UPA’s comprehensive growth as they’re down in urban areas over corruption and value rise problems.”

According to Badri Narayan, who teaches at the GB Pant scientific discipline Institute, Jhusi, close to Allahabad, each Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are focus on the lots through financial condition reduction programmes.

“This may be a smart strategy and has worked well for them,” Badri Narayan told IANS.

“Two categories of haves and have-nots emerged from the liberal economy within the past 20 years,” he said.

Says Pradip Dutta, a government prof at city University: “The Congress has been consolidating its rural strategy within the past 9 years.”

This, aforementioned specialists, is in distinction to the strategy of the BJP’s prime ministerial political leader and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi who finds support in sections of the urban bourgeoisie, youth and corporates.

“Modi is targeting the urban bourgeoisie, youth and corporates,” Dutta told IANS.

Agrees Badri Narayan. “Modi is addressing problems with urban voters’ concern like nation state and security,” he said.

But Modi can need to be careful since the whole bourgeoisie isn’t with him because it is petrified of his “divisive”agenda.

“The bourgeoisie has not totally shifted towards Modi as there’s a worry among them of his being a factious leader. there’s anxiety within the Modi camp attributable to this,” aforementioned Dutta.

According to Dutta, this has compelled Modi to undertake “an image makeover as a secular leader whose priority is development over faith.” Modi’s recent remark, that he most popular constructing bogs to temples, was a case in purpose, Dutta noticed.