Rahul, Akhilesh to attend 'Jan Vishwas Rally' in Patna ahead of LS polls

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday arrived in the Bihar capital to attend the 'Jan Vishwas Rally', which is being seen as a virtual show of strength for the opposition INDIA bloc ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

The rally, which has been organised by the RJD, is being attended by top leaders including its national president Lalu Prasad, his son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI general secretary D Raja.

Samajwadi Party president and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav has also reached the venue.

The historic Gandhi Maidan, a sprawling public ground situated in the heart of the city, is choc a bloc with supporters of the 'Mahagathbandhan', a coalition comprising Congress, RJD and Left parties, which was sharing power in the state until the abrupt exit of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who heads the JD(U), recently.

The 'Jan Vishwas Rally' is being seen as a culmination of 'Jan Vishwas Yatra', a state-wide tour undertaken by Tejashwi Yadav, who lost his job as the deputy chief minister and embarked upon a drive to galvanise the public in favour of his commitment to job creation.

"Naukri matlab Tejashwi (Tejashwi means jobs)" is one of the slogans that reverberated across the venue of the rally.