Rahul, Jayant to hold joint rally on April 22

LUCKNOW: In a joint show of strength, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will hold a rally with Rashtriya Lok Dal general secretary Jayant Chaudhary in Mathura on April 22, the last day of campaigning for the third phase of elections in UP. This will be the first joint rally of the two young leaders to counter the stiff challenge from BJP candidate Hema Malini in the district.
RLD chief Ajit Singh is also expected to attend the rally along with his son Jayant, who is seeking his second consecutive term from Mathura.
In the third phase, RLD will face the test on three seats - Mathura, Hathras and Fatehpur Sikri, while the Congress will contest on the remaining eight seats.
So far, RLD and the Congress leaders have held separate rallies. In fact, Rahul has not addressed any joint rally with Congress allies this poll season.
Since RLD is finding itself on a rough pitch this time owing to polarisation of Jat voters, it had no better option but to rope in Rahul Gandhi.
RLD state president Munna Singh Chauhan and Congress state spokesman Dwijendra Tripathi confirmed that Rahul Gandhi will campaign for Jayant Chaudhary on April 22. "Every seat is important for us. Be it for our own party or ally," Tripathi told TOI.
Sources said RLD asked the Congress high command to send its leaders to campaign for Jayant. A senior Congress leader said UPCC chief Nirmal Khatri was approached by some RLD leaders to convince Rahul to campaign for Jayant.
Sources said Rahul will likely attack the BJP, especially Modi, at Mathura rally, besides targeting the Samajwadi Party for orchestrating west UP riots.
Sources said the rally venue is yet to be finalised given the strength of supporters who might arrive to see Rahul and Jayant together.
Jayant, in fact, has been camping in Mathura and running a smooth campaign. In contrast, Hema Malini, a newcomer in the constituency, has been booked for the violation of the model code of conduct. The case was filed when an RSS-run school shut its classes to host her election meeting.