Rahul Gandhi\'s Charm Offensive During Vijaya Bheri Bus Yatra

WARANGAL: The Vijaya Bheri Bus Yatra of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi that commenced at Ramappa temple in Mulugu on October 18 covered nine assembly segments in six districts by Friday. Rahul Gandhi was at his charming best as he freely interacted with the ordinary folks at several spots.

The Yatra passed through Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Peddapalli, Karimnagar and Jagtial and concluded on a colourful note in Armur of Nizamabad district on Friday.

All along his campaign, Rahul Gandhi received a warm welcome not only from Congress activists but also from various sections of the population.

As per schedule, Rahul Gandhi was to visit Choppadandi and then Kondagattu to offer prayers at the Sri Anjaneya Swamy Temple. But, at the last moment, the programmes at Choppadandi, Kondagattu, Vemulawada and Korutla were cancelled. Only two corner meetings -- one at Jagtial town and the other at Armur -- were held.

There were several interesting moments on the final day of the yatra that began from a private hotel in Karimnagar. Reaching Kondagattu, Rahul Gandhi along with TPCC president Revanth Reddy, Komatireddy Venkat MP and another leader Ponnam Prabhakar got down from the bus and interacted with the people.

People who expressed their happiness at seeing Rahul Gandhi unanimously wished him well and expressed their optimism that the Congress party will retake power in Telangana this time.

Noticing the presence of a tiffin centre on the roadside, Rahul Gandhi went there and made enquiries as to how dosas are made. He asked the stall owner how much money he should pay to have a dosa.

Rahul Gandhi proposed that he would make a try preparing dosa. The stall owner explained the modalities and Rahul Gandhi started making dosa. There was wholesome laughter from those around, seeing Rahul Gandhi turning into a cook for a while.

The Congress leader later interacted with a family riding a Scooty at Nukapally crossroads and smilingly handed over some chocolates to the kids perched on the two-wheeler.

At a corner meeting in Jagtial town, Congress activists cheered Rahul Gandhi repeatedly during his speech, and when he called them Babbar Shers (tigers) and when he lauded MLC  Jeevan Reddy for “wonderfully” translating his speech into Telugu.

Before leaving for Armur of Nizamabad district, Rahul Gandhi visited the Nizam Sugar factory in Bodhan and interacted with the farmers.

Political analysts noted that the three-day tour of Rahul Gandhi and the visit of Priyanka Gandhi on the first day of the Vijaya Bheri bus yatra together gave the much-needed momentum to the Congress push for the upcoming assembly polls.