Congress to sound poll bugle with mega rally in Nagpur on Dec 28; Kharge, Sonia to attend

Nagpur: The Congress is all set to kickstart its campaign for the next year's Lok Sabha elections with its mega rally 'Hain Tayyar Hum' to be held in Maharashtra's Nagpur city on Thursday, the party's 139th foundation day.

"It will be a historic moment for the people of the country," Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Wednesday said addressing a press conference at the venue of the event.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi will address the rally, according to party leaders.

The mega event assumes significance as it will be held in Nagpur, where the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's (RSS) headquarters and 'Deekshabhoomi', the historic place where Dr B R Ambedkar embraced Buddhism, are located.

"The rally, with the theme 'Hain Tayyar Hum' (we are ready), will send a good message throughout the country. The Congress will sound the bugle for the Lok Sabha polls due next year," party MLA from Nagpur Nitin Raut told PTI on Tuesday.

Hectic preparations are underway for the mega rally at Dighori in Nagpur where lakhs of people and Congress workers will attend the event, as per party leaders.

"Whenever the country faced trouble, the Congress pitched in and a big change took place in the country," Patole told reporters at the venue of the event.

After Emergency, (the then prime minister) Indira Gandhi held a public meeting in Nagpur and the Congress then won all the seats from Vidarbha, he said.

"History will repeat in Nagpur and a big 'parivartan' (change) will take place in the country," the Congress leader said.

Patole also said that Rahul Gandhi will embark on the 'Bharat Nyay Yatra' from Manipur in the east to Mumbai in western India from January 14.

Congress MLA Raut said the party has chosen Nagpur for the rally due to its ideology and thinking.

On one hand there is the RSS ideology, and the other hand is the ideology of Constitution's architect Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar which is aligned with the ideology of the Congress, he said.

The public will certainly go along with the slogan of the Congress and the rally will sound the bugle for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Raut added.

Maharashtra Congress working president and former cabinet minister Naseem Khan said the Congress has given the slogan of 'Hain Tayyar Hum' to fight for protecting the country's democracy.

The Congress led a fight before 1947 for the country's independence and the Congress is now going to sound the bugle for the next fight to save democracy, he said.