Rahul Gandhi to unveil ‘guarantee’ for youth in Belgaum rally

With the Karnataka Assembly polls round the corner, top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will address his first election rally in Belgaum on Monday where he is expected to unveil the party's guarantee for youth.

Rahul, who was in the United Kingdom addressing several programmes, is back in the capital on Wednesday and would soon hit the election campaign.

Sources said Rahul will likely announce the fourth guarantee by the Congress ahead of elections, this time to cater to youth. Karnataka leaders said Rahul is expected to announce the promise of an allowance to unemployed youth. However, there was no official confirmation from the party.

Recently, the Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh government in its budget announced a monthly allowance of Rs 2,500 for unemployed youth for a maximum period of two years.

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Sources said Rahul and Priyanka will be holding a series of rallies in Karnataka in the run up to elections.

The party is expected to unveil five guarantees and so far, it has announced three. Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has announced 'Griha Laxmi', Rs 2,000 per month to a woman of a household. The party has also announced 'Griha Jyoti' – 200 units of free electricity – and 'Anna Bhagya' – 10 kg of rice free of cost.

At present, Congress workers are presenting a 'guarantee card' to voters, promising them that they would honour the announcements once they come to power. It also recently organised a ‘knock-the-door’ programme to reach out to all house-holds in the state.

Three ‘yatras’ were also undertaken by state Congress president D K Shivakumar, Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah and Legislative Council Leader of Opposition B K Hariprasad. The party had earlier launched campaigns ‘40% government’ and ‘PayCM’, which leaders claimed have struck a chord with voters.