New Delhi, April 3 (IANS) Having recovered from a fractured leg, Congress star campaigner Rahul Gandhi is all set for hectic electioneering as elections in five states get under way Monday.
Gandhi, informed sources said, is determined to lift the morale of the Congress whose shocking defeat in Bihar last year led critics to question the vote pulling ability of the party's general secetary.
Until some time ago, it was not even sure whether Gandhi, 40, who had fractured a leg apparently during a workout, would even campaign. But he made his first public appearance after a long time at Mohali March 30 when India defeated Pakistan in the World Cup cricket semi-final. He was then seen at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai watching the cricket final with friends in the stands.
"Rahul's campaign will lead the Congress to victory in these assembly polls" in Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry and West Bengal, Congress leader Mohan Prakash told IANS.
Even the best of Congress supporters admit this is easier said than done.
Gandhi's office did not provide details of his campaign programme, citing security reasons.
Party leaders said he will campaign specially for candidates from the Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India (NSUI), which are under his charge.
Gandhi did not campaign in the first phase of the polls Monday in Assam, where the Congress is confident of retaining office. But he will campaign in the second phase due on April 11.
In Kerala, which goes to the polls April 13 along with Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Gandhi is likely to campaign for several student and youth leaders, the sources said.
They include former NSUI chief Hiby Eden and former state Youth Congress leader M. Liju, who are contesting from Ernakulam and Ambalappuzha respectively.
"The Rahul appeal is strong in Kerala. He created a good impression during his visits to colleges and youth conferences in the the past two years," Kochi-based analysts K. Sreekumar told IANS.
Sreekumar says that Gandhi's informal style is widely appreciated.
Gandhi will campaign in Tamil Nadu too, taking care to keep a distance from the scam-tainted ally DMK, the sources said. The Congress is contesting 63 seats in the 234-member house.
The son of Congress president Sonia Gandhi may visit Poducherry too where the party is contesting 17 of the 30 seats.
In West Bengal, where the balloting is spread over six phases from April 18 to May 10, party managers hope to unlesh Gandhi after Apil 13 -- the day elections get over in southern India.
"Gandhi's campaign will be independent of meetings addressed by (Prime Minister) Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi," a party leader said.
Political analyst Yogesh Vajpeyi says that Gandhi's campaign is very crucial for his career.
"The spectrum scam, the Commonwealth Games corruption charges and other scams have defamed the Congress. If the party puts up a fair show in states like Kerala and Assam, Rahul's charisma will be hailed," he said.
Otherwise, he warned, the undeclared plan of the Congress to project the Nehru family scion as the successor to the 78-year-old Manmohan Singh will slow down.
Vajpeyi also linked Gandhi's planned campaign now to the elections due next year in Uttar Pradesh, where the Congress has been out of power for over two decades.
Gandhi was widely credited with helping the Congress to win 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2009.
"If Rahul performs well now, his lead role in Uttar Pradesh will continue," Vajpayei said.
Gandhi was a major campaigner for the Congress in Bihar too late last year but his charisma failed to click.
The Congress fared miserably, winning just four of the 243 seats -- fewer than the paltry nine it got in 2006.
"In Bihar, there was good attendance in Rahul's meetings. But these get converted into votes but the organisation was weak," Mohan Prakash said. "Now we are realistic. We will trasform the Rahul charisma into votes."