With farmers in mind, Rahul to address 'Kisan Abhaar' rallies in Rajasthan, MP, Chhattisgarh

The Congress is ready to kickstart campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls by thanking farmers through rallies in the states they recently took charge of, commencing with a Kisan Abhaar Rally in Jaipur on January 9.

Congress had promised to waive farm loans in their manifesto announced ahead of Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. After coming to power, the party announced a loan waiver in all the three states.

Farmers' support proved to be a game changer for the Congress party in the elections as it managed to form the government states like Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, where Congress was out of power for 15 years, and in Rajasthan, where the party had only 22 MLAs out 200 assembly seats.

A senior leader of the party said farmers' support has played a big role in the results, and therefore, the party wants to reaffirm they have kept their promise and will continue to do so in the future too.

It may be noted that these Hindi heartland states have 65 Lok Sabha seats, where Congress has only 6 seats as of now. With a few months left for the general elections, the Congress needs to maintain momentum as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is eyeing a comeback with a higher share of seats in Lok Sabha polls.

Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his rally in Punjab had accused the Congress of cheating farmers in the name of loan waivers. However, the Congress president has maintained that the party has honoured its promises to the farmers, while the NDA government has failed in delivering their poll promises made to farmers.

Meanwhile, a source from the party also said that to thank farmers for their support, the Congress will organise Kisan Abhaar rallies in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh too in the coming weeks.