Msg From Ramlila Ground: Akhilesh Sounds UP Poll Bugle, Rahul Waffled Without Goals

After days of build-up to this day for the November 1 rally of Opposition Parties’ on Ramlila Ground in New Delhi, it was a huge disappointment. Imagine party cadres of over a dozen political parties had gathered but they all had to disperse without a firm agenda for future action. That too in a poll season. How would the Opposition parties be able to take on the BJP and ruling NDA without a coherent plan? It was all because Rahul Gandhi who for some reason had worked up  grievance against the Election Commission for the Congress’s inability to win elections and organised  movement  of political parties against the CEC and the Modi government, inexplicably abandoned his plans to challenge them politically and fell back on his familiar “love ki dukaan” option. Yes, he now seemed comfortable sending out goodwill to each one of his targets. What made Rahul Gandhi change his tack? Did he realise that he will never be able to oust CEC Gynesh Kumar?  Or realises he has no case against the CEC? In fact, it was left to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav to do some reality check and use the opportunity of the rally to amp up the message for UP Assembly elections to be held early next year. Akhilesh raised all the relevant election issues including chanda chori at Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir. He launched a sharp attack on the ruling BJP and the Election Commission for the way Pilibhit assembly voter’s list had been manipulated.