Oppn unity Rahul's top agenda in South

Opposition unity would be at the top of the agenda for Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi as he embarks on a whirlwind tour of three southern states, where his party has little stakes, from Thursday.

Rahul is scheduled to address a public rally at Sangareddy in Telangana. The Congress was unable to cash in on the creation of the new state and ceded ground to Telangana Rashtra Samithi, which swept the Assembly elections in 2014.

From Telangana, Rahul will fly to Chennai to take part in the 94th birthday celebrations of DMK supremo M Karunanidhi, which will be another opportunity for the Opposition to put up a show of strength.

Besides Rahul, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, RJD chief Lalu Prasad, Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, CPI leader D Raja and Trinamool leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay,  among others, are expected to be present.

From Chennai, Rahul will visit Andhra Pradesh, a state which once sent the most number of Congress members to Parliament. There is anger among the masses against the Congress for the bifurcation of the state, which led to the party being wiped out in the elections.

Rahul and a motley group of Opposition leaders will be addressing a joint rally at Bhimavaram on Sunday in a bid to challenge the TDP, a key BJP ally at the Centre. SP president Akhilesh Yadav, CPI general secretary Sudhakar Reddy and JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav are expected to attend the rally.