Rahul Gandhi to give momentum to Congress campaign in Keralam, Assam with his visits on March 25, 26

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New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will kick off his election campaign for the upcoming Assembly polls in Kerala on March 25 with a major rally in Kozhikode, while in Assam March 26.

According to party leaders, the Congress leader is all set to address a public meetings at Kozhikode Beach, marking the beginning of his campaign tour in the state ahead of the April 9 elections.

Similarly, he is set to visit Assam on March 26 and kick off the campaigning for the April 9 polls.

Meanwhile, Congress sources said that Rahul Gandhi, who is also the former party chief had blocked the MPs desires to contest in assembly polls in Kerala, where the Congress-led UDF has strong chances to wrest power from the LDF.

The source said that during the recently CEC of the party, Rahul Gandhi came to know about the desire of many MPs wanting to return to their home state to become MLAs and then Ministers.

“This desire among Congress MPs led to a delay in announcing candidates after days of meetings. Finally, Rahul Gandhi used his veto power and ordered that no MPs from Kerala would contest in the Assembly polls,” the source said.

Earlier, Rahul Gandhi has announced several guarantees for the state during his two days visit

Rahul Gandhi on March 7 announced five basic ‘welfare guarantees’ to the people of Kerala if the United Democratic Front (UDF) were to come to power.

Addressing a packed audience at the conclusion of the Puthuyuga Yatra in the Putharikandam Maidan in Thiruvananthapuram, a month-long rally across the State by Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, Rahul Gandhi had said that these welfare guarantees were aimed at giving a social security cover for the people of Kerala, especially the women and the youth.

The Congress leader had announced that monthly welfare pensions for the marginalised sections of society would be raised to Rs 3,000, health insurance scheme that will be named after former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, which will guarantee a medical insurance cover of up to ₹25 lakh for a family, free travel for women on buses operated by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation across the State. In addition, college-going girls will be given a monthly financial assistance of Rs 1,000. The Gandhi scion had also promised that a dedicated department would be set up for the welfare of senior citizens and young entrepreneurs will be given an interest-free loan of up to Rs 5 lakh so that they can set up new businesses and generate employment opportunities.

The Congress sources said that Rahul Gandhi will also visit Assam on March 26 to kick off the campaign in the state, where the party had faced several high profile desertions ahead of the crucial assembly polls.