New Delhi: The Congress President Sonia Gandhi is touring the Congress ruled southern states of Kerala and Karnataka on Sunday and Monday.
This is her first visit to Karnataka after the Congress returned to power in last May. Her visit is being touted as a thanksgiving trip for electing the party to power after nine years.
Sonia Gandhi will be addressing a huge public meeting in Mandya in Southern Karnataka on Monday. The Congress wrested Mandya Lok Sabha seat from the JDS in a by-poll, last month. It is also a Vokkaliga heartland, the bastion of the Gowda family.
The ruling Congress is trying to mobilise at least 2 lakh people for the rally. All top leaders of the Congress party from Karnataka, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, KPCC chief Dr G Parameshwar and Union Ministers are also participating in it.
Sonia in Kerala on Sunday
Sonia Gandhi is scheduled to inaugurate the campus of Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Development Studies, set up by the Kerala unit of the Congress on Sunday.
Her scheduled visit to Kerala was cancelled as she went to the United States for medical treatment, earlier this month.
According to reports from Kerala, she is expected to have discussions with senior state leaders to sort out the differences between top leaders of the party in the state.
A section in the party, with the backing of KPCC President Ramesh Chennithala and K Muraleedharan, has often aired critical views of the way the government has handled the image crisis gripping it.
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy's aborted move to bring in Chennithala to the ministry and the public debate it sparked has also marred the image of the Congress in the state.
Sonia Gandhi will also launch the UDF government's ambitious "Zero-landless" scheme, pertaining to distribution of land to the landless.
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