Maharashtra assembly election 2019: Rahul Gandhi to start his campaign in Latur, Mumbai

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will campaign for the Maharashtra assembly elections in Mumbai and Latur on Sunday, in his first poll-related appearance since the dates were announced in September.

Rahul Gandhi will kickstart the party’s campaign in Asua in the state’s Latur district for Basavaraj Madhavrao Patil. He will then go to Chandivali and Dharavi in Mumbai to canvass for Naseem Khan and Varsha Gaikwad respectively.

Varsha Gaikwad is the daughter of the Congress’ Mumbai unit chief Eknath Gaikwad and seeking re-election from the assembly constituency for the fourth time.

This is the first time the Gandhi will campaign for the Congress in the assembly elections after the party’s humiliating defeat in the April-May Lok Sabha election. He just returned from a trip abroad.

The Congress is contesting the Maharashtra assembly polls in alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Both the parties are contesting 125 seats each leaving 40 for smaller parties, including the Samajwadi Party, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana of Raju Shetti and the Communist Party of India (CPI).

Rahul Gandhi, according to unnamed sources quoted by news agency PTI, will also address a rally in Latur region in support of late chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh’s sons Amit and Dheeraj.

Gandhi will also campaign for the party candidates in Haryana on October 14, where he will address a few poll rallies and then again go to Maharashtra.

Maharashtra will go to the polls on October 21 and votes will be counted three days later on October 24.