As election campaign reaches a fever-pitch in Telangana, the Congress is all set to rope in UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who will be travelling to the state to address a public meeting in Medchal constituency in the outskirts of Hyderabad on November 23.
According to the itinerary, the senior leader will be reaching the Begumpet airport at 5 pm on November 23 and will be travelling to Medchal via road. Medchal is located around 40 km from the state’s capital. She is expected to return to New Delhi on the same day by around 8 pm.
As the Congress has joined hands with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) as part of a grand alliance or ‘Mahakutami’ in their fight against the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) for the upcoming polls, speculation is rife on whether the leaders of these parties will be invited by the Congress to share the dais with Sonia Gandhi during the meeting.
According to senior leaders in the party, Congress President Rahul Gandhi would also be visiting constituencies in north and south Telangana in an attempt to mobilise people across the state to vote for the party. The dates for his travel are yet to be finalised.
The Congress is expected to be banking on a commonly held sentiment among sympathisers of the party that it was Sonia Gandhi’s decision that led to the formation of Telangana.
The party has repeatedly claimed in the past that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had promised to join hands with the Congress if a separate state was granted, but backstabbed the Congress in the last moment before the 2014 polls.
Sonia Gandhi’s presence is also expected to boost the morale of party workers in the state.
On Sunday, ahead of the last day for filing nominations for the Telangana Assembly elections, the Congress in New Delhi finally released its final list of candidates.
The Congress on Saturday released its third list of 13 candidates for the Telangana Assembly polls, fielding party veteran and former Andhra Pradesh Minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah from Jangaon, a seat that was rumoured to be contested by the TJS chief Kondadaram, a party in alliance with the Congress.
Kondadaram on Sunday announced that he wouldn’t be contesting from any constituency for the upcoming polls.
Telangana goes to the polls on December 7 and results will be declared on December 11.