The public rally to be held in Nagpur will be addressed by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, former President Sonia Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi.

The Congress will kick off its campaign for next year’s Lok Sabha polls on its 139th foundation day from Nagpur in Maharashtra on December  28. On this day, the party will hold a rally in Nagpur. Amid election preparations, the party is busy finalising the second phase of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. The yatra is likely to begin from any of the northeastern states in January.

Congress sources said the decision to hold the foundation day rally in Nagpur as the city houses the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)  is a significant step. The party’s decision will decide the nature of the electoral and ideological battle between the Congress-led Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance  (INDIA) and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former president Sonia Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi will address the public rally in Nagpur. Party sources said that lakhs of workers from not only Maharashtra but all over the country will reach Nagpur to participate in this rally. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former president Sonia Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi would address the rally proposed to be held in Nagpur on December  28, he said.

Maharashtra, with  48 Lok Sabha seats, is crucial for the Congress and its allies like the Uddhav Thackeray-led  Shiv Sena and the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).  These parties are hopeful of improving their performance in the state.  In the last  Lok Sabha elections, the alliance of BJP and the undivided Shiv Sena captured 41 of the  48  seats in the state.

Congress sources also informed that Rahul Gandhi is likely to launch the second phase of the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ in January next year. The first Bharat Jodo Yatra started from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and culminated in Srinagar on  30 January 2023. Unlike the first journey, in which Congress leader Rahul Gandhi walked about  3,500 km, the second will be hybrid in nature, in which Rahul Gandhi will drive and stop from place to place to interact with people, and meet people.