Rahul Gandhi to launch tribal dance fest tomorrow

Raipur, Dec 26: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to visit Chhattisgarh capital Raipur on December 27 to take part in the opening ceremony of the national tribal dance festival, officials said on Wednesday.

AICC General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other senior leaders are also scheduled to remain present at the inauguration ceremony, they said.

The state is going to hold a three-day 'National Tribal Dance Festival 2019' at the Science College ground here from Friday, wherein over 1,350 artistes from 25 states in India and six other countries are expected to take part.

Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi will be the chief guest at the inaugural function of the event at 10 am on Friday, while Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel will preside over the occasion, a government public relation official here said.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, deputy leader Anand Sharma, Rajya Sabha MP Ahmed Patel, AICC General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several other senior party leaders would be present on the occasion as special guests, he said.

The venue of the dance fest has capacity to accommodate nearly 4,000 people and it will have a food zone, book exhibition, stalls of forest produce, industrial promotion stalls, exhibition related to Chhattisgarh's history, tourism, culture and cuisine, he said.

The dance competition will be based on four themes- dance during weddings or other auspicious occasions, dance during harvest and agricultural-related festivals, dance during traditional festivals and rituals and the last category is other folk and classical dance forms, he said.

Around 39 tribal troupes will be making a presentation in these four different categories covering around 43 dance styles, he added.