Congress' kisan rally to sound poll bugle in Rajasthan

In a bid to sound poll bugle in Rajasthan ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Congress president Rahul Gandhi will on Wednesday address a farmers' rally in Jaipur's Vidhyadhar Nagar.

Ahead of Gandhi's rally, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot took a stock of preparations on Tuesday afternoon.

The much-awaited Kisan rally will be the Gandhi scion's first public meeting after his party formed the government in the state. The rally comes two weeks after the Congress announced that it has fulfilled its promise of waiving off farmer loans.

The Gehlot-led government in Rajasthan had on December 19, 2018 announced a waiver for short-term farm loans up to Rs 2 lakh, and constituted a committee to decide the eligibility criteria.

The party's in-charge for political affairs in Rajasthan, Avinash Pande who inspected the venue on Tuesday, said, "The farmer loan waiver announcement was in line with the Congress manifesto, which the party has fulfilled after coming to power. The Congress president will be addressing a public meeting where he will thank people for giving mandate to the Congress in Rajasthan."

According to Congress sources, as many as one lakh people are expected to attend the rally. Incidentally, the kisan rally, which is also said to be the party's first rally in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, will be held at the same venue from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed his first rally in Rajasthan in 2014.