Jaipur/Tonk, 10 September (HS): Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi will launch the Indira Rasai Gramin Yojana today from Jhilay village in Niwai in the Tonk district of Rajasthan. After the successful operation of about 1000 Indira Rasoi in urban bodies, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced in the budget 2023–24 to start 1000 kitchens in rural areas as well. Under this, the target is to serve about 7 crore to 30 lakh food plates. Gehlot had announced to run 1000 Indira Rasoi in rural towns through Rajivika during the Sakhi Conference on August 18, 2023, in Jaipur. Now the scheme will start on Sunday in rural towns with a population of more than five thousand.
With this, Priyanka Gandhi will start the assembly election campaign from the Niwai assembly seat in Tonk district. Although Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge have started it in Banswara and Bhilwara, this will be Priyanka’s first meeting for the Rajasthan Assembly elections. There will also be a dialogue with the beneficiaries of Indira Rasoi, which operates in different districts in Jhilay village.
All camps of the state Congress are working together to make Priyanka’s public meeting successful. State Congress President Govind Singh Dotasara, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, and Sachin Pilot are also active. Through the public meeting to be held in Niwai, Congress will keep an eye on the 35 seats in Tonk, Sawai Madhopur, Jaipur, and Ajmer. Of these, Congress had won 18 seats in the last assembly elections. There are five seats where independents from Congress have won.
Tonk, Deoli Uniara, Niwai, and Malpura assembly seats are in Tonk district. Of these, Congress currently holds all three seats except Malpura. If seen on the basis of the old district, out of 19 assembly seats in Jaipur, 10 assembly seats, i.e., Chaksu, Adarsh Nagar, Bagru, Civil Lines, Hawa Mahal, Jamvaramgarh, Jhotwara, Kishanpol, Kotputli, and Virat Nagar, have Congress MLAs, while Bassi, the independents who won elections in Dudu and Shahpura, are also old Congressmen.
Sawai Madhopur district has four seats: Bamanwas, Gangapur, Khandar, and Sawai Madhopur. Of these, there are Congress MLAs from Bamanwas, Khandar, and Sawai Madhopur and Congress-backed independent MLAs from Gangapur City. Out of the eight assembly seats in Ajmer district, Congress has MLAs in only two assembly seats, Kekri and Masuda. In such a situation, among the four districts on which Congress is eyeing, Ajmer district is the one where Congress has fewer seats.
Hindusthan Samachar/ Indrani
