India
pti-PTI
New
Delhi,
Nov
15:
Congress
president
Mallikarjun
Kharge
and
former
party
chiefs
Sonia
Gandhi
and
Rahul
Gandhi
are
among
the
40
star
campaigners
the
party
announced
for
the
Gujarat
assembly
elections.
Rahul
Gandhi,
who
is
leading
the
party’s
Bharat
Jodo
Yatra,
has
not
campaigned
so
far
in
the
poll-bound
states
of
Gujarat
and
Himachal
Pradesh.
Ashok
Gehlot
and
Bhupesh
Baghel,
the
chief
ministers
of
Congress-ruled
Rajasthan
and
Chhattisgarh,
are
also
among
the
star
campaigners
for
the
December
1
and
5
polls
in
Gujarat,
the
home
state
of
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi.
The
Congress
is
seeking
to
oust
the
BJP
from
power
in
the
state
and
had
put
up
a
good
fight
in
2017
assembly
elections.
The
BJP
has
been
in
power
in
the
state
for
over
27
years
now.
Among
the
other
star
campaigners
listed
by
the
party
are
AICC
general
secretary
Priyanka
Gandhi
Vadra,
CLP
leader
in
Kerala
Ramesh
Chennithala,
former
chief
ministers
Digvijaya
Singh,
Kamal
Nath,
Bhupinder
Singh
Hooda
and
Ashok
Chavan.
Besides,
AICC
general
secretary
Tariq
Anwar,
CLP
leader
in
Karnataka
assembly
B
K
Hariprasad,
senior
party
leaders
Mohan
Prakash,
Shaktisinh
Gohil
and
AICC
in-charge
for
party
affairs
in
Gujarat
Raghu
Sharma
are
also
listed
by
the
Congress
as
its
star
campaigners.
Former
Rajasthan
deputy
chief
minister
Sachin
Pilot
and
local
Gukarat
Congress
leaders
Jagdish
Thakor,
Sukhram
Rathva,
Bharatsinh
Solanki,
Arjun
Mothvadia
and
Jignesh
Mevani
will
also
campaign
for
the
party
as
star
campaigners.
Party’s
Rajya
Sabha
MP
Imran
Pratapgarhi
and
former
student
leader
Kanhaiya
Kumar
are
also
among
the
star
campaigners
besides
Pawan
Khera
and
Amrinder
Singh
Raja
Warring.
Expenditure
on
electioneering
by
a
star
campaigner
is
not
added
to
the
candidate’s
poll
expenses,
giving
him
or
her
more
room
to
campaign.
According
to
election
laws,
these
expenses
are
borne
by
their
parties.