Rahul takes poll campaign to Varun's Pilibhit

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Thursday continued with his election tour in cousin Varun Gandhi's Lok Sabha constituency — Pilibhit.

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Thursday continued with his election tour in cousin Varun Gandhi's Lok Sabha constituency — Pilibhit.

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After addressing an election meeting in Puranpur on Wednesday, he moved to Amaria in the same district.

But this is not the first time that Rahul is campaigning in Varun's constituency. In 2007 assembly polls, he had addressed a public meeting in Puranpur which coincided with the campaigning of aunt Maneka Gandhi and cousin Varun for the BJP.

Pilibhit had hit headlines in 2009 due to the alleged hate speech by Varun during the Lok Sabha elections.

As the stakes increase in the 2012 polls, Rahul's presence in Uttar Pradesh has also increased. In the past two months, he has spent about 20 days in UP, campaigning extensively for the party that is seeking revival of its fortunes in the state after being voted out of power in 1989. In Pilibhit, Rahul trained his guns not only on BSP chief Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav, but on his cousin's party as well.

"Like some parties, we do not practise politics of religion. We only believe in politics of development," he said.

Rahul also mentioned his family links with UP. "I belong to UP. My family belongs to UP. My great grandfather, grandmother and mother all worked for Uttar Pradesh. This is my land like yours."

While Congress president Sonia Gandhi has never campaigned in Pilibhit, Maneka had unsuccessfully contested against Rajiv Gandhi from Amethi in 1984.

On his part, Varun has maintained that he will campaign only in certain areas of UP and wished Rahul well for the coming elections. "His message is essentially positive."