Congress president Rahul Gandhi will address a rally on Thursday in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, where the party faces a tough challenge in wresting back all the four seats in the Lok Sabha election due in April-May.

Rahul Gandhi will start the Congress’ campaign in Himachal Pradesh for the upcoming Lok Sabha election during his first visit to the hill state after becoming the party’s chief.

Gandhi will arrive in the state at around 2pm and head straight to the rally venue at Chambi ground in Shahpur assembly segment, around five kilometres from the Kangra airport.

Congress is yet to declare its candidates in the state with four parliamentary seats of Shimla, Kangra, Hamirpur and Mandi.

Selecting a candidate in the seats is going to prove an uphill task for the Congress with the grand old party divided into three camps owing allegiance to former chief minister Virbhadra Singh, Congress deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma and former Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu.

Gandhi, besides raising issues like stolen papers related to controversial Rafale fighter jet deal and IAF airstrikes after the Pulwama terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, is likely to talk about problems related to Himachal Pradesh like unemployment, lack of development and dwindling horticulture and tourism economy.

All senior leaders of the state unit of the Congress will attend the rally except former chief minister Virbhadra Singh. The veteran leader is busy with the wedding of his son Vikramaditya Singh.

First Published: Mar 07, 2019 10:49 IST