Raipur: Congress president Rahul Gandhi will arrive in Chhattisgarh’s capital Raipur on Thursday for a two-day State tour.
Mr. Gandhi will participate in the Jan Swaraj Sammelan in the morning, and address a rally in the afternoon in Sarjguja district. He will then travel to Kotmi village in Bilaspur district for a rally, the Chhattisgarh State Congress Committee said in a press statement.
This visit, a couple of days after the Karnataka results, is being seen as the start of the party’s campaign for the Chhattisgarh Assembly election slated in November this year.
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The Kotmi rally will be held in the same ground in which former chief minister Ajit Jogi had announced the formation of his new party after quitting the Congress in 2016.
Incidentally, Mr. Jogi has also planned a rally in Bilaspur, 20 km away from Kotmi, on Thursday. His son and MLA Amit Jogi has claimed that his father’s rally will draw a larger crowd than Mr. Gandhi’s.
“On May 18, the Congress president will interact with booth-level party workers from 24 Assembly constituencies in Bilaspur district and 20 Assembly constituencies in Durga district. He will also participate in a road show from Durg national highway to Raipur airport,” the statement added.
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Mr. Gandhi’s Chhattisgarh tour will be his first public appearance after the Karnataka results. He is likely to break his silence on the political upheaval in the State where his party has extended unconditional support to the Janata Dal (Secular).