Punjab Congress to begin rural outreach from Jan first week to counter BJP push in rural areas

Published on: 25 Dec 2025 at 12:20 PM

Published by: Fact News

Fact News Service

Chandigarh, December 25: The Congress will launch a statewide rural outreach from January 5, a move being seen as an attempt to counter the BJP that is trying to make inroads into villages ahead of the 2027 Assembly polls.

Under the campaign, the party will hold “MGNREGA Sammelans” to shore up support against the overhaul of the rural job plan by the BJP-led Union Government.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was replaced by the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act by the BJP-led Union Government recently.

The MGNREGA, which provided 100 days of guaranteed employment, was introduced in 2005 by the Congress-led UPA government.

Under the new scheme, states will have to foot 40 per cent of the wage bill, a provision that has drawn the ire of the Congress and Opposition-ruled states. Keeping the protests against the change in mind, the state Congress has been tasked with reaching out to beneficiaries under a targeted campaign.

There were over 20 lakh families registered in the state under the now-replaced MGNREGA.

All-India Congress Committee general secretary incharge for Punjab Bhupesh Baghel will kick off the campaign from Amritsar on January 5.

The programmes will be held at Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr, Samrala, Rajpura, Sangrur and other rural areas having maximum MGNREGA beneficiaries.

“Aware about the BJP’s aggressive push in the recently held zila parishad and block samiti elections, the Congress has set it eyes on rural vote bank. The affected beneficiaries will be told about the fallout of the new law and anti-Punjab mind set of the BJP,” said a senior Congress leader.

Going solo for the first time in the state in the rural body polls, the BJP bagged around 80 seats, including 70 of block samitis.

Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Raja Warring said apart from mobilising party leaders, experts were being roped in to explain implications of the new law for the intended beneficiaries.

Under the campaign, the Congress will also target ruling AAP over its “failure” to implement the MGNREGA in the past.

The party looks to build a narrative that the MGNREGA was passed unanimously in Parliament with support of all parties while the BJP replaced it without taking other parties into confidence.