Rahul Gandhi to embark on two-day visit to Karnataka on April 16

PTI, Apr 16, 2023, 11:16 AM IST

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will arrive in poll-bound Karnataka on a two-day visit to take part in a host of events, including party rally in Kolar on Sunday. This is the maiden visit of Gandhi to the state after his disqualification from the Lok Sabha following his conviction in a 2019 defamation case.

According to party sources, the former Congress president is expected to reach Bengaluru in the morning and then proceed to Kolar by a helicopter. Gandhi will address a public meeting in Kolar as part of Congress’ ‘Jai Bharat’ rally. During the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign in Kolar, Rahul Gandhi had made the Modi surname remark, which led to his conviction by a Gujarat court and his subsequent disqualification from Parliament.

The Kolar event, which was earlier called ‘Satyameva Jayate’, was scheduled to take place on April 5, but was postponed twice. The even renamed as ‘Jai Bharat’ rally was rescheduled to April 16. After his address in Kolar, the Congress leader will return to Bengaluru by helicopter in the afternoon.

Later, in the evening, Gandhi will interact with the ‘Pourakarmika’, the sanitation workers and street vendors in the state capital. After the meeting, he will inaugurate the newly-built Indira Gandhi Bhawan, office and auditorium with a seating capacity of 750 people, in the city. The leader will stay at a hotel in Bengaluru tonight. On Monday, he will take a special flight from the HAL airport to Bkhalki in Bidar district, where he will address a public meeting.

Congress working president Eshwar Khandre is contesting from Bhalki. Rahul Gandhi will address another public meeting in Humnabad in the same district. The Congress has fielded Rajashekar Basavaraj Patil in this assembly segment. In the afternoon, the Gandhi scion will travel to Hyderabad by a helicopter from where he will fly back to Delhi.

For the 224-seat assembly, the Congress has so far announced candidates for 209 seats, including 124 in the first list, 42 in the second list and 43 in the third. The party is yet to announce seats of 15 more candidates.