'Navjot Singh Sidhu had strike rate of 80% as star campaigner'

CHANDIGARH: Punjab minister and Congress star campaigner Navjot Singh Sidhu addressed back-to-back rallies in three poll-bound states recently and his party won in most constituencies where he campaigned, with a strike rate of nearly 80%, his office has claimed.
The party won all 15 seats in Chhattisgarh where Sidhu campaigned, 25 of 30 in Madhya Pradesh, and 10 of 19 in Rajasthan. The success rate was better than that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in these states, the minister's office claimed while sharing the data.

In all, Sidhu address 64 rallies and 10 press conferences as part of his whirlwind campaign schedule and the party won 50 of these constituencies.

"In Chhattisgarh, Congress won from Manindergarh for the second time in history. There were also seats with high concentration of Sikhs, like Durg City and Bilaspur, in the state, where Sidhu is believed to have had an impact," said a loyalist of the leader.

Sidhu told TOI, "The effort put in by party president Rahul Gandhi was visible in all these states and Congress managed to clinch seats like Bilaspur and Manindergarh after a gap of 20 years. I'm sure these results will have a bearing on the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections and the Congress will oust the BJP from the Centre," he said.