In the first phase, 12 districts, comprising about 50 Assembly segments, were covered. “We received tremendous response from the people everywhere we went. The developmental work of the Congress government has been appreciated by all sections, which has encouraged us to launch the second phase of the campaign more vigourously,” claimed Sharma, while talking to The Indian Express.

Though the date for the next phase has not been finalised, it is likely to begin after March 15. “We will hold public meetings at the district headquarters and rallies at the divisional headquarters in Ambala, Hisar, Rohtak and Gurgaon,” Sharma said, adding that Congress president Sonia Gandhi and general secretary Rahul Gandhi would also address some of the rallies. “In all, we will cover 40 Assembly constituencies in the second phase,” he said. He added that Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh is also expected to visit the state.

Congress had won nine of the 10 seats in the 2004 Parliamentary elections. “The campaign will be intensified after the announcement of the candidates. Besides Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who is already actively campaigning for the Congress, other senior leaders of the party will also hit the campaign trail at a later stage,” said Sharma.

Attacking the Opposition, Sharma said they have no constructive plan for the development of the state. He termed the ‘Jan Aakrosh Padyatra’ by INLD general secretary Ajay Chautala a “flop show”.

Media convener of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee, Pawan Jain, said, “There is a pro-Congress wave in the state and we are headed for a big victory in the Lok Sabha polls.”