JOIN USAt political conventions, normally people have to wait for hours before politicians arrive. But at the women’s equal rights convention organised by the Congress in Tumkur, it was the other way round.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, whose political nemesis Narendra Modi has often called him a ‘Shehzada’ (prince), had to wait for about an hour for people to gather at the convention. When Rahul finally arrived at the Mahatma Gandhi stadium here around 12.50 pm , a large number of empty chairs greeted him.
And he was about 40 minutes late, at that. Before coming to attend the convention, he flew in a helicopter from Bangalore and inaugurated the work on an six-lane road (NH-4) on the outskirts of Tumkur.
Seeing the poor turnout, the State Congress leaders advised Rahul to arrive late. Consequently, he waited at a nearby guesthouse of Tumkur University. Even as Rahul waited for the venue to fill to capacity, KPCC president G Parameshwara was seen pacing up and down near the dais to see the turnout. But the numbers did not swell even after an hour.
Congress leaders’ repeated appeals to people to attend the convention did not exactly elicit a positive response. Finally, a visibly disappointed Rahul had to address the below-capacity crowd.