Rahul Gandhi charms people in Assam road show

If BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi mesmerised people during his three-hour presence in Assam earlier this month, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi too seemed to have successfully charmed people during his visit to the state.

Gandhi started his second day Wednesday in Assam seeking divine blessings at the Kamakhya temple in Guwahati and interacted with students at the Don Bosco University at Azara, on the outskirts of Guwahati.

Later, accompanied by Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhubneswar Kalita, Gandhi took a chopper ride to Nagaon where he was joined by Tarun Gogoi's son Gaurav Gogoi, who will make his debut in the upcoming elections as party candidate from Koliabor constituency bordering Nagaon.

However, it was at the road show organised by the party from Nagaon to Tezpur where Gandhi really charmed the waiting people by mixing with them even breaking the SPG security cordon at times.

Gandhi started his road show around 1 p.m. Wednesday from Neherubali in Nagaon and took the National Highway 37.

He stopped at several places and waved enthusiastically to the people waiting along both sides of the road. The Gandhi scion got down from the SUV he was travelling in at Uriagaon, jumped a barricade and interacted with the people, waiting to have a glimpse of him.

Besides the roadside meetings, the party had also organised exhibitions at many places to show the AICC vice president the culture of Assam. At Uriagaon in Nagaon, traditional huts of various communities like the Karbi, Tiwa, Rabha, Bodos and the Deuris had been temporarily erected. The Congress leader, however, skipped those due to time constraints.

He also avoided taking part in roadside meetings at many places, where various cultural troupes had been waiting to put on for him a brief show of their culture.

Gandhi completed his 65-km road show from Nagaon to Tezpur standing at the door of his SUV with enthusiastic Congress supporters and people lining up on both sides of the NH 37 cheering him vociferously.

From Tezpur, the Congress leader went to Jorhat where he interacted with a select group of women comprising teachers, entrepreneurs and Congress workers, who virtually mobbed him.

He promised to implement the various schemes for women's empowerment and ensure their security.

He returned to New Delhi Wednesday evening.