Rahul Gandhi apologies to people of Maha's Chikhli after plane glitch forces rally cancellation 

Mumbai, Nov 12 (IANS) Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi cancelled his planned election rally in Chikhli in Maharashtra's Buldhana district on Tuesday after his chopper suffered a technical glitch. 

For skipping the first of the two rallies in the state – the second is scheduled in Gondia, Gandhi tendered an apology in a recorded video-message this afternoon.

"I apologise to all of you. I was scheduled to come and address a meeting in Chikhli and then meet soybean farmers there. I couldn’t come due to a technical probe in the aircraft," he said.

The Congress leader said that soybean and cotton farmers in Maharashtra are enduring huge difficulties as the Bharatiya Janata Party government is not giving the right prices to the growers of both these crops.

"However, as soon as the INDIA bloc comes to power here, we shall work out a solution for the farmers," he assured.

The rallies were planned for the Congress candidates Rahul Bondre from Chikhli and Rana Dilip Sanada of Khamgaon which is also in Buldhana and Gopaldas Agarwal in Gondia district.

Gandhi is slated to return to Maharashtra on November 14 and 16 for a few more rallies and then is likely to join the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s final rally scheduled in Mumbai early next week, before the November 20 polling.

Besides, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, who is the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, will start his next round of campaign on November 13, and go on to hold poll meetings in different parts of the state including Mumbai on November 14, 16, 17, and 18 with polls meetings in different parts of the state including Mumbai.

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi will tour the state and plunge into poll campaigns on November 13, 16 and 17 in several constituencies in Maharashtra. She is the Congress candidate for the by-elections to the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat where polling will be held on Wednesday, with the election necessitated after her brother vacated the seat after the 2024 LS elections and chose to retain the Rae Bareli constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

The Gandhis and Kharge will not only canvass for Congress nominees, but also of MVA partners - the Shiv Sena-UBT and the Nationalist Congress Party-SP, which have already launched their individual or joint poll campaigns.