In Williamnagar and Nongpoh, Rahul urged the youths in the

state to join his party allowing the Congress to build a better Meghalaya. His appeal to youths was clearly a part of coordinated Congress strategy to woo all sections of the society in the battle of ballots. Appreciating the youths of the state who are working in every nook and corner of the country today, Rahul said, "When I see the youths of the region working in Delhi and Bangalore, I feel nice. They are working there because they are capable and can compete with the best." Urging the youths to join the party, he said, "I want you to enter into the political system." "If we really want to change politics, then we have to bring youngsters into the political system. Youngsters who are sensitive to the views of the common man, youngsters who feel the pain of the poor person, youngsters who suffer when they see a bad road, youngsters who suffer when they see that their people do not have the medical facility they need," he said. During their campaign meetings, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had highlighted the economic gains made by state during the past five years, while Congress president Sonia Gandhi touched on emotive local issues like illegal mining and illegal immigration at Jowai yesterday. Rahul said even though Congress has capable leaders, it needs to produce next generation of leaders from different states to take the country forward. "Meghalaya may be small in size compared to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, but it is an important state. We cannot ignore any state. Every state is important, every culture is important for the India to grow," he said.