Odisha

Rahul Gandhi To Visit Odisha Tomorrow

Bhubaneswar: Intensifying his pre-poll campaign in Odisha, Congress president Rahul Gandhi will visit the state again after a gap of 12 days.

The Congress supremo, who had addressed a massive public meeting near Tamando on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar during his first visit, will attend two public meetings in Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi district and Rourkela in Sundargarh district on his second visit on Wednesday.

Political analysts are of the view that Rahul’s major focus will be to woo the western Odisha voters and cash in on the tribal vote bank.

The Congress president, who had left a deep impression among the tribals of Niyamgiri by introducing himself as their sentinel during his visit to Kalahandi district in 2010, is pinning high hopes on the tribals ahead of the forthcoming elections.

Former Union Minister and Kalahandi MP, Bhakta Charan Das said whenever Rahul has visited Kalahandi, history has been created. “Leave alone the urban areas, the zeal among the party workers in rural areas of Kalahandi is so intense that we are not able to provide them with adequate vehicles to attend the public meeting of our party supremo,” he added.

Das said the Congress in Odisha will gain a lot with the visit of Rahul Gandhi since he is the party leader. “The people of India now want to see him as the Prime Minister,” he pointed out.

After addressing the public meeting at Bhawanipatna, Rahul will leave for Rourkela to address another public meeting before leaving for New Delhi in the afternoon.