Rahul Gandhi to Address Congress Insaaf Rally in Sangrur Todayਰਾਹੁਲ ਗਾਂਧੀ ਅੱਜ ਸੰਗਰੂਰ ਵਿੱਚ ਕਾਂਗਰਸ ਦੀ ਇਨਸਾਫ਼ ਰੈਲੀ ਨੂੰ ਸੰਬੋਧਨ ਕਰਨਗੇ

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will address the party's Insaaf Rally at Fagguwala village in Sangrur district on Wednesday, 4 November, an event the Punjab Congress is presenting as the formal launch of its campaign for the 2027 Assembly elections. The rally is scheduled to begin at 10 am, and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is also expected to attend, according to party leaders. Punjab Congress president Pargat Singh said Gandhi's visit would give fresh direction and momentum to the campaign from the Malwa region and send a message to workers to gear up for Mission 2027.

Why has Congress chosen Sangrur?

Sangrur is the home district of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and is regarded as an Aam Aadmi Party stronghold. Congress general secretary and Punjab in-charge Sachin Pilot, who visited the rally venue on Monday to review preparations, said Gandhi would take the political fight to what he called the AAP's effective capital in Punjab. Pilot said the true state of affairs in Sangrur would be placed before the whole state during the visit. Party organisers said people from across Punjab were expected at Fagguwala, with mobilization under way in all 117 Assembly constituencies. Earlier party statements put the expected turnout at more than one lakh, while former minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa claimed on Sunday that the rally could draw over two lakh people. These are party claims ahead of the event, and the actual turnout will only be known once the rally is held.

What issues will the rally raise?

Pargat Singh said the rally would raise the rights, future and justice of the people of Punjab. The Congress agenda for the event covers the drug menace, unemployment, farmers' problems, paddy procurement, law and order and sacrilege cases, along with the protection of the state's constitutional and economic rights. The party's case is that the AAP government, which won 92 of 117 seats in 2022, has failed to deliver on the promises it made to voters.

Speaking to ANI ahead of the rally, former minister Vijay Inder Singla said this is not the Punjab people once knew, attacking the AAP government over law and order, the drug menace and rising gangsterism. Congress MP and former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi made a similar attack on Tuesday, alleging that the state had become marked by gangsterism and drugs and describing the situation as a police state. These are opposition allegations made in campaign speeches. The AAP has previously rejected similar charges and points to its record in office, and its response to Wednesday's rally speeches will be reported as it comes.

What happens next in the 2027 race?

The Sangrur rally is the Congress party's biggest Punjab event since it stepped up its 2027 preparations, following the leadership's meeting in Delhi on 1 November to map the party's plan. It also lands in a crowded political week: the AAP has released its first list of 40 candidates, three of its MLAs have quit and joined the BJP, and the BJP is holding its own full-day conclave on the 1984 anti-Sikh violence in Chandigarh on the same day. With every major party now campaigning openly, the size of the Sangrur crowd and the tone of Gandhi's speech will be read as an early test of whether Congress can convert its criticism of the Mann government into momentum on the ground.

When and where is the Insaaf Rally?

The Congress Insaaf Rally is on Wednesday, 4 November at Fagguwala village in Sangrur district, scheduled from 10 am, with Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge expected to address it.

What is the rally meant to launch?

Punjab Congress leaders describe the rally as the launch of the party's campaign for the 2027 Assembly elections, with a focus on drugs, unemployment, farmers, law and order and Punjab's rights.

Why is Sangrur politically important?

Sangrur is Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's home district and an AAP stronghold, which is why Congress in-charge Sachin Pilot framed the rally as taking the fight to the ruling party's base.