Madhya Pradesh: Rahul in Bhopal to kick off Congress poll campaign

Congress president Rahul Gandhi embarked on a roadshow on Monday to kick-off the party's campaign in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh after seeking the blessings of more than 11 Hindu priests. Polls in the BJP-ruled state are scheduled towards the end of this year.

Gandhi was received by state Congress president Kamal Nath and senior party leader and Guna MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, among others, at the airport in Bhopal.

Thousands of Congress workers and supporters holding the party's flags chanted "Rahul Gandhi Zindabad" as he left the airport.

The Congress chief is headed to the 15-km-long roadshow from Lalghati Chowk, located close to the airport, said Pankaj Chaturvedi, the state Congress spokesperson. It commenced from Bhopal's Lalghati Chowk, near the airport and will pass through old city areas including Royal Market and Peer Gate, and will reach BHEL Dussehra Maidan.

Gandhi's roadshow, in which he will ride an open vehicle, will conclude at the Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd's Dussehra Maidan, where he will interact with party cadres this evening, Chaturvedi said.

"A T-shape ramp has been constructed near the stage from where Gandhi is going to take questions from party workers during his interaction with them," he said.

Besides, he is going to address a meeting of Congress workers, which is open to the public, before leaving in the evening, added Chaturvedi.

Congress party workers have put up posters and banners in Bhopal describing the 48-year-old Congress chief, who just returned from a pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar, as a 'Shiv bhakt'.

Heavy security has been deployed in areas where Gandhi is scheduled to cross. Besides the regular police force, an additional 1,500 policemen are manning the streets of Bhopal.

Thousands of Congressmen from across the state have gathered in the state capital to catch a glimpse of their leader and meet him.