Gurudas Kamat, the AICC general secretary, launched his party's Lok Sabha election campaign in the city on Friday in the presence of a large number of party MLAs, office-bearers and activists. Kamat and Mohan Prakash, the AICC senior functionary in charge of Maharashtra, flagged off six 'raths' (chariots) that will be used for propaganda purposes in the campaign.
Kamat said the Congress-led government in the state had implemented several projects in Mumbai and that this would stand the party in good stead in the elections.
"The Eastern Expressway, monorail, etc., are already making an impact on travel. The metro rail, Santa Cruz-Chembur Link Road and such other projects will benefit Mumbaikars in a big way. I am sure the Mumbai voters will acknowledge these developmental works," he said.
Mohan Prakash said the Congress campaign would emphasise on a socially-inclusive and secular agenda. He rejected the pre-poll surveys that said the party would bag only eight of the 48 seats in the state.
He also said the social networking media would be used extensively to reach out to the electorate.
The event was attended by MPCC president Manikrao Thakare, MRCC chief Prof. Janardhan Chandurkar, minister Arif Naseem Khan, MLAs Chandrakant Handore, Krishna Hegde, Baba Siddique, Bhai Jagtap, Jagannath Shetty and city Youth Congress chief Ganesh Yadav.
Kamat will seek re-election from Mumbai north-west. The Shiv Sena-BJP alliance is yet to finalise its candidate against him. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has announced it would field builder Mayank Gandhi against Kamat.
AAP is expected to field banker Meera Sanyal in South Mumbai. She lost the last election from this constituency.
Arvind Sawant of the Shiv Sena is expected to take on sitting MP and Union minister Milind Deora. Former member of the Planning Commission Bhalchandra Mungekar may replace Eknath Gaikwad, the MP from Mumbai south-central. The Congress will retain sitting MPs Priya Dutt and Sanjay Nirupam. The Mumbai north-east is now being represented by Sanjay Patil of the NCP, which is likely to retain him.
Thakare said the party cadre was united and that the campaign would consolidate Congress' hold at the grass root level. "In the days to come, they will explain to the voters the various initiatives taken by the UPA that include the Right to Education Act, food security measures, Rajiv Gandhi health scheme, etc," he said.
Thakare said MNS chief Raj Thackeray could not take credit for the government's decision to revisit the road toll policy. "That decision was taken well before Thackeray had started his agitation," he added.
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