Rahul Gandhi to begin two-day visit to Kerala tomorrow

Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi will commence a two-day visit to Kerala on Tuesday. He will visit Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi.

During the visit, he is expected to review the party's strategy, ahead of the upcoming state Assembly polls.

According to reports, Gandhi will hold talks with the party leaders and workers, and chalk out the strategy to establish the grand old party's presence in Kerala which has voted out incumbent governments since 1982.

However, the Congress has a herculean task in the state with the simmering rage against the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), after the names of its top leaders, including Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, emerged in the solar scam.

The upcoming elections in the five states are crucial for the Congress as it will be interesting to note whether the grand old party continues its political stronghold in Kerala and Assam.

The Congress vice-president's visit to Kerala comes days after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah sounded the poll bugle in the state, urging the workers to bring in as many Hindu groups as possible to the party fold.

The BJP, which has been critical of the UDF regime, is expected to contest 80 of 140 seats, leaving the rest for its alliance partners.