Curious Case of Blue ‘Nyay’ Flags That Advertised Rahul Gandhi's Poll Promise at Amethi Roadshow

New Delhi: Ahead of filing his nomination from his traditional Lok Sabha seat of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, Congress president Rahul Gandhi held a roadshow in the party stronghold on Tuesday. Besides him and his sister, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the roadshow also featured a new campaign flag.

In addition to the traditional party flag -- tricolour with a palm symbol in the centre-- the supporters at the roadshow were also seen carrying blue-coloured flags, advertising Congress’s poll promise of the Minimum Income Guarantee (NYAY) scheme, under which the poorest 5 crore families in India will get Rs 72,000 a year.

The blue flags carry Rahul Gandhi’s face and information on the NYAY scheme. The flags read that each family will get Rs 72,000 per year or Rs 6,000 a month, and also feature the Congress party symbol. It is unclear if this is the first time the party has used this flag for its campaigning.

Blue flags usually represent Dalit identity and politics and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) flag is also of same colour, with its electoral symbol ‘elephant’ in the middle.

The NYAY scheme features prominently in the Congress manifesto and has also come under scrutiny by BJP leaders since its announcement. In the interim budget, the BJP too had announced a direct income transfer scheme for farmers, called PM Kisan, under which small and medium farmers would get Rs 6,000 a year in three installments.

Announcing the NYAY scheme, the Congress president had criticised the PM Kisan scheme, calling the amount provided meagre, and said that the scheme would transfer Rs 6,000 per month to the poorest families in India.

Gandhi’s roadshow in Amethi comes days after he filed his nomination from Wayanad in Kerala, the second constituency from where he would be contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. His opponent in Amethi is BJP leader and textile minister Smriti Irani, who had in 2014 put up a decent fight against him at the Congress stronghold. Gandhi has been elected as an MP from Amethi three times and the constituency is considered a traditional Congress seat.

However, Gandhi’s candidature from Wayanad has handed a lien of attack to the BJP and Irani, who now accuse Gandhi of running away from Amethi fearing a loss.

Amethi goes to polls in the fifth phase of elections on May 6.