Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi will hit the campaign trail for the first time in four years by addressing a public meeting in Karnataka's Hubballi on Saturday, as the party decides not to leave any stone unturned in returning to power after unseating the BJP.
On Sunday, former president Rahul Gandhi and General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi would hold a joint rally in Shivaji Nagar in Bengaluru, as the party puts the accelerator on the campaign, which will end on May 8.
So far, Congress has unleashed an aggressive campaign by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul and General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi by organising 43 public rallies, 13 road shows, six interactions with women and youth as well as five meetings with workers.
Sonia has not campaigned for the Congress in any election after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls as also not attended any public rallies for the party owing to health reasons. Her first public engagement in years also came in Karnataka's Mandya on October 6 last year when she joined Rahul Gandhi in his Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Sonia's rally has been planned in the Lingayat dominated Kittur Karnataka region and is seen as the party's last minute push to bring the community, which is seen as BJP's strong vote bank, to its side.
The Congress accuses the BJP of pushing the Lingayats to the edges by citing the experiences of leaders like Jagdish Shettar and Laxman Savadi, who joined the party to fight the May 10 Assembly elections.
Sonia will be addressing the rally in Shettar's constituency on Saturday afternoon before returning to Delhi on the same day.
Congress election managers decided to choose the Lingayat stronghold region for Sonia's campaign, as she had already visited the Vokkaliga belt during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Congress leaders highlighted Sonia’s Karnataka connection by citing her fight Bellary in 2004 Lok Sabha elections though she later resigned to retain her Rae Bareli seat.
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