Sonia, Rahul to be Congress' star campaigners

Sonia Gandhi and AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi would campaign in Meghalaya for the March three assembly polls.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi and AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi would campaign in Meghalaya for the March three assembly polls.

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AICC Joint secretary Major Ved Prakash told reporters on Tuesday that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would also tour the state sometime in mid-February.

"In Gujarat, Modi triumphed riding on emotional tactics, whereas in Himachal it was the anti-incumbency factor, that paved the way for the BJP but in Meghalaya the nuances are different.

Optimistic that the party would be able to grab a majority in the elections, the Congress leader, who was the former party-in-charge of the state, also denied reports about rifts within the state unit of the party.

When asked about the crisis faced by the party last year that saw the toppling of DD Lapang as the chief minister by some rebel Congress legislators, he said, "It was because of the constitutional amendment which cut the size of the ministry from 40 to 12.

"The MLAs who were left out were disgruntled. It is natural. But now the differences have been sorted out", he said.