RAIPUR: The ruling Congress in the state keenly awaits its first-ever visit on Thursday by the party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi to the tribal-dominated Bastar region, about 300 km south of Raipur, as an informal launch of their poll campaign in Chhattisgarh.
Political parties believe that the road to power in Chhattisgarh is via Bastar, which holds the key to the formation of government in the state. All the 12 assembly seats in Bastar are with the Congress. Vying for the support of the adivasis, Priyanka will address a public rally at the Lalbagh ground in Jagdalpur and will have separate interaction with the women from the tribal belts.
Interestingly, Bastar is a region where women voters, with little over 51 per cent, outnumbered men. In several pockets of the conflict zone, the outlawed CPI (Maoist) also had the presence for a past over three decades. Priyanka is likely to have key consultations with the senior party leaders to draw up the party strategy ahead of the Assembly polls scheduled later this year.