Jignesh Mevani campaigns for Kanhaiya Kumar in Bihar
Patna: Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani, who had spearheaded a Dalit movement in his state a couple of years ago, Thursday campaigned for former JNU students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar the CPI candidate from Begusarai Lok Sabha seat in Bihar.
The social media was abuzz with pictures of the two young politicians traversing the dusty tracks of Begusarai, sometimes on foot and sometimes pillion riding on bicycles, as they addressed several small political meetings seeking support for the upcoming Left leader.
Mevani also tweeted a picture of himself enjoying the traditional Bihari lunch of rice, lentil soup and mashed potatoes with the caption-- "Dal bhaat chokha khaenge, Kanhaiya Kumar ko jitayenge, theek hai", parodying a hit number of Bhojpuri singer Khesari Lal Yadav.
Mevani's canvassing for Kumar who is pitted against firebrand BJP leader Giriraj Singh is being seen as an attempt to garner Dalit support in favour of the upper caste CPI candidate in a caste-riven state like Bihar.
Both Kumar and Singh belong to the influential Bhumihar community which in the recent years have been more inclined towards the BJP though in Begusarai, they have been till a few decades ago supportive of the CPI which has sent many MLAs and MPs to the state assembly and parliament respectively from the district.
Kumar would need the support of Dalits in order to provide a credible challenge to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, almost twice his age and armed with the saffron party's huge election machinery.
Moreover, Lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) may end up making the contest tougher for the poll debutant as it plans to field a Muslim candidate from Begusarai, going back on its earlier stand of supporting Kumar's candidature.
Left sympathisers across the country have been keenly watching the electoral battle in Begusarai as a victory for Kumar could indicate that the moribund communist parties were showing signs of revival.
There have been reports that more than Rs 20 lakh have been raised in the former JNU student leader's favour through crowdfunding and Bollywood personalities Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi were likely to lend a whiff of glamour by taking part in his election campaign.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
