Congress banks on Rahul’s visit to win Thuraiyur

Trichy: Congress party, which is contesting Thuraiyur (reserved) assembly constituency in Trichy district, is banking its victory hopes on leader of the opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who is scheduled to visit constituency on Saturday. The party has fielded Lenin Prasath from the constituency.Contesting for the first time ever since Thuraiyur was formed post the delimitation exercise in 2008, the party said that it will utilise its leader's visit to promote the ‘hand' symbol in the rural constituency."Rahul's presence in a rural constituency like Thuraiyur will boost the confidence and morale of the candidate and party workers. We consider it as a token of recognition for Youth Congress cadres. It will encourage us to work for the first win after decades in Thuraiyur," Manivel Annadurai, spokesperson, Indian Youth Congress, said. Rahul Gandhi is expected to land at Trichy airport around 3.45pm. From the airport, he will use a chopper to reach Thuraiyur. The campaign in Thuraiyur is scheduled to be conducted in an open ground on Perambalur Road between 4.15pm and 5pm. Congress last contested in Thuraiyur in 1952; after that, the constituency was realigned under the erstwhile Uppiliapuram assembly constituency reserved for scheduled tribes. The last time a Congress candidate contested in Uppiliapuram was in 1989. In the 2008 delimitation exercise, the Uppiliapuram segment was dropped. Since some of the 297 polling booths in the constituency are in remote and tribal hamlets, including Pachamalai Hills, the national party faced challenges in promoting the relatively new election symbol.