Rahul Gandhi to kick off three-day Guj visit today

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will begin his three-day yatra in Saurashtra on Monday to reach out to youths and farmers ahead of the upcoming Gujarat Assembly elections.

The Gandhi scion will kick off his visit to five districts in the region by offering prayers at Dwarkadhish temple in Devbhumi Dwarka district. He will meet party workers and supporters, villagers, elected panchayat representatives, farmers and traders at places along the route of the yatra.

Congress leaders said Rahul will visit Devbhumi Dwarka and Jamnagar on Monday, Jamnagar, Morbi and Rajkot on Tuesday, and Rajkot and Surendranagar on Wednesday.

"The Navsarjan Yatra will focus on demonetisation, poor implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST), farmers' issues, stagnancy in the economy, and other issues which touch the people," former Gujarat Congress president and the yatra's in-charge Arjun Modhwadia said.

This will be Rahul's third visit to the state in less than two months. He had toured the flood-hit areas of north Gujarat on August 4 and Ahmedabad on September 4, for party meetings and other engagements.

Party leaders said they were banking on Rahul's yatra to make inroads into the state that has been a BJP fortress for years.

"The BJP has been in power in Gujarat for 22 years now, and there is an extremely strong anti-incumbency current against the party. This is our best chance in several years," a senior leader said on condition of anonymity.

Rahul, who will also undertake the Navsarjan Yatra in north, central and south Gujarat ahead of the elections, is striving to change many perceptions of him being a reluctant politician and someone who is out of touch with reality. Gujarat elections could be a much sterner test for him as well as his party.