Rahul to hold rally in Valsad

By D.P Bhattacharya

GANDHINAGAR: Congress president Rahul Gandhi is expected to kick-start his party’s campaign for the upcoming general election from Dharampur in Valsad district on February 14, said people aware of the matter.

They said Gandhi would address a rally and make a strong statement against land acquisition for the bullet train project, which is envisaged to run through the region and has sparked agitations from the farmers whose lands are being acquired. Gandhi’s rally is expected to have an impact on the adjoining Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman seats as well, said one person. The BJP had won all the 26 Lok Sabha seats in the 2014 general election but the Congress staged a recovery in the 2017 state polls by winning 77 out of 182 assembly seats. Valsad, a largely rural and tribal seat reserved for Scheduled Tribes, has been a favourite with the Nehru-Gandhi family.