Warangal: Congress pins hopes on Rahul's visit

Warangal: The long-awaited visit of All India Congress Committee (AICC) vice-president Rahul Gandhi to Warangal has finally been confirmed, according to party sources.

Rahul Gandhi will address a public meeting in Warangal on May 4. The visit will certainly up the morale of the Congress cadres who have been at the receiving end for the last few years.

Although the Congress has won two seats in 2018 Assembly elections in the erstwhile Warangal district – Seethakka from Mulugu and Gandra Venkatramana Reddy from Bhupalpally, the latter has shifted loyalties to the ruling TRS. Even the biggies like former TPCC President Ponnala Lakshmaiah (Janagaon), former Union Minister Balaram Naik (Mahabubabad) and former Minister Konda Surekha lost in that election.

As of now, Seethakka is the lone hope for the Congress in the erstwhile Warangal despite the party's phenomenal slide. The leaders like Naini Rajender Reddy (Warangal), Janga Raghava Reddy (Jangaon), Gandra Satyanarayana Rao (Bhupalpally) and a few others are also making their presence felt by continuously mingling with the people. On the other hand, for reasons unknown, Konda Surekha and Muralidhar Rao couple maintaining a stoic silence without much ado.

Against this backdrop, Congress which has a considerable devout vote bank in the region is pinning its hopes on Rahul Gandhi's public meeting.