Congress gears up for Gujarat Assembly polls; Rahul, Sonia meet MLAs

The Congress leadership on Monday asked party legislators from Gujarat to remain united and continue their fight for truth and ideology in Mahatma Gandhi's home state.

This was told by the top Congress leaders to party legislators from Gujarat with whom they held a key strategy meeting ahead of this year's assembly elections.

The meeting chaired by Congress president Sonia Gandhi at her residence was also attended by party vice president Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretary in charge of Gujarat Ashok Gehlot and party's key strategist Ahmed Patel.

"Had a good meeting with Congress MLAs and leaders from Gujarat today," Rahul Gandhi later tweeted.

During the over half hour meeting, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi both congratulated the MLAs for emerging "victorious in this fight for truth and democracy", an apparent reference to Patel winning the Rajya Sabha election in the state despite desertions and fears of alleged poaching.

"While congratulating the party MLAs for remaining united and for standing the test of time, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi told all MLAs to continue with their fight for truth and ideology.

"They told the party legislators that the Congress was not contesting for taking power but for restoring the values in Mahatma Gandhi's Gujarat," party spokesperson and MLA from Gujarat Shaktising Gohil said.

He said that the party leadership told the MLAs to continue opposing such forces unitedly which will result in rallying public support.

Assembly elections in Gujarat are due later this year and the Congress is seeking to stage a comeback after being out of power in Narendra Modi's home state for nearly two decades.

The Congress also suffered a major blow in the recent past when its key leader Shankarsinh Vaghela quit the party along with some party MLAs.