Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi is to begin his ‘Mission South’ on Thursday amid Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) attempt to establish a durable base in the southern states. Gandhi will be addressing a rally at Sangareddy in Telangana today.
“Looking forward to being in Sangareddy tomorrow (Thursday), a place that holds a very special significance for me, for Congressmen and women across the country,” said Gandhi in a tweet.
Gandhi’s ‘Mission South’ includes his visit to Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh in a bid to reinforce the campaign against the BJP-led central government. He will also attend the birthday celebrations of DMK President M Karunanidhi on June 3, along with other national leaders such Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, RJD chief Lalu Prasad, NCP leader Sharad Pawar, Trinamool Congress parliamentary party chief Sudip Bandhopadhyay, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI MP D. Raja and Puducherry Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy.
Besides, a united rally will be addressed by Gandhi and SP President Akhilesh Yadav on June 4 in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. Leaders of the left parties are also expected to take part in the rally. The rally might see the attendance of seven to eight opposition parties.
Notably, this is going to the second opposition engagement after all the chief opposition parties, led by Sonia Gandhi, came together for a lunch in Delhi. They decided to challenge the upcoming presidential election if the government does not declare a consensus candidate.
