This story is from March 7, 2019

Rahul Gandhi to hold rally in Tripura on March 20

Rahul Gandhi to hold rally in Tripura on March 20
Congress president Rahul Gandhi
AGARTALA: Congress president Rahul Gandhi will kick off the party's Lok Sabha election campaign in the state with a rally here on March 20. It will be his first visit to the state after becoming the Congress chief.
Rahul is scheduled to meet newly appointed president of the party's Tripura unit, Pradyot Kishore Debbarman, and other Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee leaders before addressing the rally.
The party has also decided to invite Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi to the state to address another rally.
In the run-up to the Lok Sabha election, Congress finds itself on shaky ground in Tripura - where it has not won a Lok Sabha seat since 1991, when it won both seats, and holds no assembly seat either after its debacle in the election last year.
Two weeks ago, royal scion Pradyot replaced Birajit Sinha, who had been chief of the party's state unit since 2015. With this, the party hopes to make structural changes that will help revive its fortunes in time for the parliamentary election.
"Congress has received a boost with Pradyot taking over. Former chief minister Samir Ranjan Barman has also been brought back and many others will follow. BJP will face a tough fight this time," state Congress leader Rahul Saha said. Congress veteran Samir Ranjan had been expelled in 2017 after he attended a BJP programme with his son, Sudip Roy Barman. The latter had joined BJP after leaving Trinamool Congress and, earlier, Congress. Last week, Pradyot reached out to him and reinstated him.

Another shot in the arm Congress has received with Pradyot's elevation from working president to president is the boost to the party's appeal among tribal communities. "The support base of regional tribal parties is eroding after Maharaja became Congress president. In fact, many tribals who were supporters of BJP ally Indigenous People's Front of Tripuras are now ready to join Congress," Saha added.
Congress has already initiated the process of selecting candidates for the two Lok Sabha seats.
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