Sonia Gandhi's rally cancelled in Haryana’s Mahendergarh; Rahul to step in

New Delhi, Oct 18: In last minute change, Congress president Sonia Gandhi will not address the election rally in Haryana's Mahendergarh on Friday. It was her first rally after she took over the reins of the grand old party in August following her son Rahul's resignation owning responsibility for the drubbing in this year's Lok Sabha polls. The rally, in Mahendergarh, will now be addressed by Rahul Gandhi.

"@RahulGandhi ji will be addressing a public meeting at Mahendragarh today, at 2 PM. @INCIndia President Sonia Gandhi ji will not be able to attend the meeting due to unavoidable reasons," the Haryana Congress said in a tweet.

The Haryana Congress announced the decision on Twitter.

Rahul Gandhi has already held rallies for the October 21 assembly polls in Maharashtra and Haryana. This will be Rahul Gandhi's second rally in Haryana. He had addressed the first one on October 14 in Nuh in the Mewat region.

Gandhi, who turns 73 this December, was to campaign for Congress candidate Rao Daan Singh, who is contesting against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister Ram Bilas Sharma in Mahendergarh. The election will be held on October 21 and votes will be counted three days later on October 24.

Over the last few years, Sonia Gandhi has been seen less and less in her party's public meetings and rallies.

Her last public address was a rally in Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli on June 12. She had held a meeting in Rae Bareli on May 2 during the Lok Sabha election campaign, which was her lone poll rally.

The Congress president has in the recent years curtailed her public functions and had last addressed a rally in Rae Bareli on June 12 to thank the voters of her Lok Sabha constituency for re-electing her. Prior to that, she spoke at a public meeting in Rae Bareli on May 2 while campaigning for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.