Rahul Gandhi to continue his temple run during Madhya Pradesh campaign: Reports

Rahul Gandhi Congress president

Congress President Rahul Gandhi will likely model his Madhya Pradesh campaign on his Gujarat run in 2017 and will continue temple visits, media reports suggested.

The Congress' campaign in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh will begin with Rahul’s visit to Omkareshwar temple, Hindustan Times reports.

Rahul held a meeting on Tuesday with senior party leaders from the state to outline the plan and devise a strategy for the election campaign.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the news.

The campaign is likely to commence in late August or early September, according to media reports.

Rahul had visited several temples while campaigning during the Karnataka assembly election as well. His strategy has often been called “soft Hindutva”.

The Congress president will spend about a month in MP, Mint reported.

"The first phase of his campaign will be around a 'bus yatra' in which he will intermittently visit different places and address small rallies. His campaign is expected to begin from the third week of August and the starting point is likely to be the Omkareshwar temple in Ujjain," a senior party functionary said.

The Congress is attempting to defeat the incumbent Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government, which has been in power for almost 15 years.

There is speculation that the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Congress will form an alliance and contest the election together. But the parties have not reached a seat-sharing agreement, PTI reported.