Rahul Gandhi on April 19, Sonia Gandhi on April 26

GANGTOK, March 9: AICC president Sonia Gandhi and general secretary Rahul Gandhi is set to visit Sikkim next month to woo the electorate here and supplementing Nar Bahadur Bhandari’s pitch for a Congress mandate in Sikkim in ‘national interest’.
While the Congress youth leader will be addressing a party meet at Paljor Stadium on April 19, Mrs. Gandhi will campaign in Sikkim on April 26.
The SPCC president indicated today in a press meet that a host of Central leaders including the above two star campaigners are set to descend in Sikkim to pitchfork the prospects of the party among the Sikkimese electorate.
“Both Mrs. Gandhi and her son agreed to my request to campaign in Sikkim”, said Mr Bhandari while launching the election campaign of SPCC during the party workers meeting at the party head office here at Gangtok.
The SPCC president linked national security with the outcome of the Assembly polls in Sikkim and appealed a mandate from the people in ‘national interest’ keeping in view of the strategic location of the Himalayan State.
“Sikkim's strategic location with three international borders surrounding it can be safeguarded properly only if the governments at the Centre and in the State share symmetry and in the border State's context the electorate must give a mandate to the Congress”, said Mr. Bhandari.
The party president claimed that Sikkim will get its maiden duly elected Congress government this time ever since it joined the Indian Union in 1975.
Congress led UPA retaining power in Centre is a foregone conclusion and now the onus lies on the Sikkimese people to restore democracy, a clean and transparent government in Sikkim, said Mr. Bhandari. He added that there is full support and blessing of Mrs. Gandhi to ensure Sikkim becomes a Congress State.
Earlier, addressing an impressive public meeting at the party office, the SPCC chief slammed the SDF government for ‘its failure in all fronts’. The poverty rate has gone up in the State while rural infrastructures are in shambles, he said. The Centre should send a fact finding team to assess the so-called developments in Sikkim during the 15 years of SDF government, he said.
On the electoral strategy for the assembly polls, Mr. Bhandari said that the Congress will launch a statewide campaign starting with a public meeting at Geyzing in West Sikkim on March 13.
Introducing the party candidates for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, Mr. Bhandari said that priority has been given to youth, educated, social, experienced and people friendly persons while ensuring representation to all the sections of the society in selection of candidates.
The party had already announced its candidates for 30 seats in the 32 seat Assembly.
Speaking on this context, Mr. Bhandari said that candidates from Rhenock, Chujachen and Temi-Tarku will be replaced by new candidates.
Congress Lok Sabha candidate KN.Upreti claimed that the Congress led UPA government is once again coming to power at the Centre. So a Congress government in the State with a Lok Sabha member too from the same party will be far more capable of facilitating necessary constitutional and legal amendments in the Parliament to meet out the pending issues, he said.
Congress Sangha candidate Acharya Tshering Lama claimed that the Roy Burman Commission Report is going to be suicidal for the SDF Party in the next elections as this is ‘divisive and anti-Sikkimese’ in nature.