JAIPUR: Congress leaders were upbeat as the first national rally organised by the state unit here turned out to be very impressive in terms of crowd.
The venue was overflowing with people, including women who turned up in large numbers hours before the arrival of Gandhis.
Priyanka Gandhi arrived first and gave a speech before the arrival of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi who came to the dais together later. The presence of Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi in the rally was confirmed only in the morning.
This has added to the enthusiasm of the party workers. There was all-round enthusiasm among the workers which the Congress leaders described as people's frustration with the Modi government. The party leaders and their supporters who could not make their entry to the venue were glued to the massive LED screens put up on the roadside outside.
The city was flooded with the party flag of the Congress, banners and bill boards dotting every nook and cranny. Leaders seemed to compete to put banners with their photos with national leaders prominently displayed.
From morning, people with posters and banners in their hands started to march towards the Vidyadhar Nagar stadium.
The organisers had arranged parking of buses carrying workers from various districts at a distance from the stadium at different locations. They then proceed towards the stadium in groups amidst beating of drums, dancing and slogan shouting.
The arrival of workers was well orchestrated as no traffic jams were witnessed before the meeting as they came to the venue at different times. But after the rally there was a huge rush among the workers to catch their buses and there was traffic jam all around and the police had a hard time regulating traffic and the crowd.
The party had put up two stages, one for the national leaders and another for the state leaders.
Among the state leaders only chief minister Ashok Gehlot, state party chief Govind Singh Dotasra, Sachin Pilot and CWC member Raghuveer Singh Meena found a place on the national dais.
The ground had only the cut-outs of Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka while all attention was on Rahul. Speaker after speaker praised Rahul Gandhi for his leadership role during the farmers agitation. No other state or national leader could make a cut.
The organisers distributed masks and tried to sanitise hands at entry points but it has remained a token gesture.
