Sonia Gandhi to address Himachal rally on Oct 22

Shimla: Congress president Sonia Gandhi will address an election rally on Monday in the historic town of Mandi, becoming the first national-level leader to visit Himachal Pradesh for campaigning in the forthcoming state Assembly Elections, an official said.

"Sonia Gandhi will address her first election rally in Mandi. One more rally has been planned after this one," a Congress leader said here on Sunday. Former union minister and Congress leader Sukh Ram, 83, belongs to Mandi town and commands influence in the area. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would address a rally in Una town on October 28, while a series of rallies have been planned by the party for general secretary Rahul Gandhi. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also invited its national leaders to address rallies in the state. "Our leaders LK Advani, Arun Jaitley and Nitin Gadkari would address poll rallies this week," BJP national general secretary JP Nadda told a news agency. He said Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi will also address rallies. Elaborate security arrangements have been made during the visit of the national leaders. As many as 4.59 million voters will cast their ballots on November 04 at 7,253 polling stations across Himachal Pradesh. The votes will be counted on December 20, after the Gujarat Assembly polls are over. IANS