1 month ago
Last Updated: March 08, 2024, 19:43 IST
Get insights into Congress's first candidate list for Lok Sabha Election 2024. (File pic/PTI)
Congress party announces its election promises including paid apprenticeships for graduates to tackle unemployment concerns
Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Congress party on Friday announced the first list of 39 candidates, including Rahul Gandhi, who will contest from Wayanad. The list includes also includes former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and senior leader KC Venugopal.
“The Congress Election Committee met yesterday and selected 39 candidates in its first list of (Lok Sabha) candidates. The list includes names of Rahul Gandhi and Bhupesh Baghel,” AICC general secretary Venugopal said during a press conference. Of the 39 candidates, 15 are from the general category and 24 are from ST/SC/OBC and minority backgrounds.
VIDEO | “The Congress Election Committee met yesterday and selected 39 candidates in its first list of (Lok Sabha) candidates. The list includes names of Rahul Gandhi and Bhupesh Baghel,” says Congress leader KC Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) in a press conference. pic.twitter.com/dpHCiQQTOH— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 8, 2024
‘Mix of Young and Old’
Speaking during the press conference, senior leader Ajay Maken said the first list is a mix of both young, experienced candidates and leaders from youth Congress. A day earlier, Congress had said it would guarantee paid apprenticeships to every graduate under 25 if it wins the upcoming election, as it tries to tap into voter concerns over high unemployment, even among the well-educated.
Opinion polls predict another big defeat for the party that has ruled India for much of its independent history but was thrashed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the last two general elections.
elections are likely to be held in the coming weeks.
“We are going to ensure your ‘first job’ of Rs 1 lakh ($1,209) per year,” former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, said on X social media. “This historic plan of ours is a forever cure for the disease of unemployment.”
Gandhi, who is in the middle of a cross-country march exhorting young people to vote for Congress, said the party would enact a ‘Right to Apprentice Act’ guaranteeing a one-year apprenticeship in a government or private institution, with the opportunity to continue in the job.
“This revolutionary scheme will change the face of Indian industries and the destiny of the youth by closing the skill gap between industry and India’s workforce,” he said.
