Rahul Gandhi arrives in Uttarakhand

DEHRADUN: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi arrived here today to take stock of the party's affairs in Uttarakhand, his first visit to the state following his recent elevation in party ranks.

After landing in the morning at Jollygrant airport, Gandhi headed straight to Aketa hotel where he was closeted with party functionaries for about two hours before lunch.

Senior state-level leaders like Uttarakhand Congress chief Yashpal Arya, vice-president Suryakant Dhasmana and state Congress spokesman Dhirendra Pratap were with Rahul at the hotel which has been declared out of bounds for the media.

AICC in-charge of party affairs for Uttarakhand, Chaudhry Virendra Singh was also present at the hotel.

Rahul is scheduled to interact with party workers and leaders in two sessions in the city, at the Aketa and Madhuban hotels and will also address an NSUI camp at Sunrise hotel.

Tight security arrangements have been put in place in the city in view of the Congress VP's visit, especially around Rajpur Road where all these hotels are located.

Rahul's visit is being seen as an exercise in preparing the Congress for the forthcoming civic body polls in the state and the 2014 general elections.