Rahul Gandhi is set to expand student outreach as Congress seeks stronger connections with younger voters.
With the Congress planning to woo Gen Z through its ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme, which is being addressed by Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, party sources revealed that the Gandhi scion will be addressing at least 25 to 28 more such programmes in the coming days. The Congress launched the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ initiative from Rajasthan’s Kota on June 17, over the issue of the NEET UG paper leak, and he thereafter addressed three more such programmes in Uttarakhand’s Dehradun on July 17, in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj on August 8 and in Maharashtra’s Pune on August 22. The next ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme is now scheduled in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore on September 19, for which preparations are already underway. Party insiders revealed that as the grand old party has gained momentum in connecting with Gen Z voters, it believes it would be beneficial for Rahul Gandhi to address more and more such programmes to establish a direct connect with students. The source said that Rahul Gandhi will be addressing at least 25 to 28 such programmes in the first phase of the programme. On August 19, when the Congress Working Committee, the party’s highest decision-making body, held a meeting, it was decided that the party would hold 800 ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programmes across the country, which would be addressed by several senior leaders. The source said that as part of Rahul Gandhi’s programme, the Congress is first choosing BJP-ruled states for the same and will then move to states where it is in power. The source also revealed that in election-bound Uttar Pradesh, where the party is already working on Rahul Gandhi’s yatra from Purvanchal to Awadh (Ballia to Prayagraj), the party is also looking to hold the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme in cities like Gorakhpur, Kanpur and Meerut.
Meanwhile, the party is looking to organise the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme in Jharkhand’s Ranchi, where it is part of the JMM-led government and student protests have also taken place recently over the paper leak. The source also revealed that the party is mulling holding the programme in Bihar’s Patna. Earlier, the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme in Patna was scheduled for August 12, but was postponed. The party is also eyeing to hold the programme in northeast India and, for that, it could hold the same in Assam’s Guwahati.
Congress has been roping in several rappers to make ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ a hit among youngsters. The source said that Rahul Gandhi’s programme is gaining traction as more and more students are joining the programme. He said that during the programme, Rahul Gandhi has been holding discussions with the students, and this is the reason why it is resonating with students and their parents, as the programme is highlighting the issues being faced by them. During the last programme in Pune, the Congress had the theme of ‘Girls Power’, with most of the issues centred on girls and the problems being faced by them.
