Rahul Gandhi to launch Congress election campaign in Tamil Nadu on Saturday

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will launch the party's campaign for the Tamil Nadu assembly elections in Coimbatore on January 23 by campaigning in western part of the state for three days.

During the three-day tour beginning Saturday, the former Congress president will address road shows in Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode and Karur in western Tamil Nadu. He will also attend a road show in Dindigul district in southern part of the state on his way back to board a flight to New Delhi from Madurai on January 25.

Gandhi, who will arrive in Coimbatore on Saturday morning, will be accorded a grand reception, after which he will attend a Town Hall-type meeting with representatives from Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the industrial city.

The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee has customised a special vehicle for Gandhi to hold the road shows.

In the evening, he will head to Tiruppur, the knitwear hub of India, where he will pay homage at the memorial pillar built for freedom fighter, and hold an interaction with industrial labourers. Gandhi is likely to listen to the grievances of the MSME workers and labourers. The Wayanad MP has been criticising the implementation of demonitisation and GST by the Narendra Modi government since 2016 and 2017 respectively.

On January 24, Gandhi will pay tributes to Dheeran Chinnamalai, a freedom fighter, in Erode district and interact with weavers. He will meet people in Kangeyam, a town known for bulls, and address a public meeting in Dharapuram.

On the last day of his three-day tour, the Congress MP will attend a Farmers' Convention in Karur district and dine at a traditional restaurant. Before leaving for Madurai to board his flight, Gandhi will address road shows at Pallapatti, dominated by minorities, and Vedasandur in Dindigul district.

This will be Gandhi's second visit to Tamil Nadu within ten days – the Wayanad MP had participated in jallikattu, the traditional bull-taming sport, in Avaniapuram in Madurai and celebrated Pongal with villagers on January 14.

Gandhi's visit comes just months before Tamil Nadu goes to its crucial assembly election and weeks ahead of the seat-sharing talks with senior ally, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).

Western Tamil Nadu is considered a bastion of the ruling AIADMK and Rahul's visit will come as a boost to the alliance led by the DMK, which is making concerted efforts to make inroads in the region.