Rahul Gandhi to launch UPA's Tamil Nadu campaign in Nagercoil today

CHENNAI/MADURAI: Congress president Rahul Gandhi is all set to formally launch the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) campaign in Tamil Nadu from the Kanyakumari parliamentary constituency at Nagercoil on Wednesday. It will also be Rahul's first public meeting in Tamil Nadu after he took over the reins of the Congress party.

Considered a stronghold of the two national parties, the 2019 elections will once again see a face-off between a Congress candidate and BJP's Union minister of state Pon Radhakrishnan, the sitting MP from the constituency. A customary glance of winners since 1951 from this erstwhile Nagercoil constituency, dominated by Hindu and Christian Nadars, indicates Congress held a clear sway over the voters in the seat, barring a few terms.

With Congress on Tuesday deciding to steer its Lok Sabha campaign towards 'unemployment' and other shortcomings of the BJP government, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi is likely to stick to these issues in his speech. This will be Rahul's second visit to Kanyakumari district in the last 15 months.

Last time, Gandhi visited Chinnathurai fishing hamlet on December 14, 2017 and consoled the kin of fishermen, who went missing during cyclone Ockhi and never made it back to the shore. He also interacted with families, of those killed in the cyclone devastation, from various villages in Thoothoor region.

Five days later, Modi visited Kanyakumari and interacted with kin of a few missing fishermen. "That was far away from our hamlets. Rahul Gandhi came to our place and listened to us," said the relative of a fisherman, who was killed during the cyclone. As a token of their gratitude, people from the coastal areas plan to take part in Gandhi's public meeting on Wednesday.

TNCC president K S Alagiri, who was in Nagercoil to oversee the arrangements for the public meeting, expects a Rahul Gandhi wave in 2019, like the Modi wave in 2014. In most elections, the party forming the government at the Centre has had an MP from that party or from their allies. Congress expects Rahul to bring back the same luck this time, Alagiri said.