Rahul likely to visit state again this month

CHENNAI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is most likely to visit the state this month. Rahul could be in Tamil Nadu next week or later this month. A senior Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) source told DT

Next that the state party unit has proposed two dates to Rahul’s office.

“We have proposed February 15 18 or three days in the last week of the month. The date will be finalised by Gandhi’s office,” a highly placed TNCC leader revealed.

The former Congress national president, who had toured several western districts in the state last month, is expected to visit southern TN this time. The state Congress senior, who confirmed the visit to the south, said that Rahul would plan a three-day trip covering nearly half a dozen districts, like he did in the Kongu region in January. The dates were learnt to have been planned keeping in mind the tour of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is expected to be in the city on Sunday, February 14.

The visit would be a part of a series of tours the Congress leader has planned to strengthen the party in the state, which was among the very few states where the ruling BJP is weak. Should the TN tour happen as is planned, it would be the third visit in a little over a month for Rahul who had made a quick sortie to Madurai on Pongal day to witness the annual jallikattu event. The Congress leader has been stoking Tamil pride and blaming the BJP for undermining Tamil culture. During the ensuing visit, the Congress leader is expected to make louder statements about his alliance’s chief ministerial candidate MK Stalin.