Bengaluru: Congress general secretary in-charge of Karnataka, K.C. Venugopal, will visit Bengaluru for four days beginning May 8 to commence the spadework on party vice president Rahul Gandhi's brief visit to galvanize state unit leaders and workers ahead of next year's elections to the Legislative Assembly.
Sources in the party said during his maiden visit to Bengaluru after replacing Digvijay Singh as general secretary in-charge of the state, Mr Venugopal would meet office-bearers, district unit presidents, members of the coordination committee, and senior leaders of the party. Mr Venugopal would discuss issues concerning the state unit with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, PCC president Dr G Parameshwar, and PCC working president Dinesh Gundu Rao.
Sources said before donning the mantle, Mr Venugopal met Mr Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi for more than one hour. The leaders reportedly discussed challenges which the party ought to overcome in order to retain power in Karnataka. Evidently, Mr Gandhi asked Mr Venugopal to work hard for the party to retain power with a good majority and face the polls under collective leadership. He was also told to visit the state frequently and interact with grass root-level workers and fire them up ahead of the polls besides ironing out differences between leaders.
When contacted, Mr Venugopal, however, told Deccan Chronicle that it was a courtesy call on Mr Gandhi as well as a briefing on state politics. He declined to elaborate about details of the discussions he had with Mr Gandhi.
