Rahul Gandhi forms poll panels for Kerala, Andhra Pradesh

Congress president Rahul Gandhi formed the election committee, coordination committee and campaign committee of the party's Kerala unit, a statement said. Mukul Wasnik, AICC general secretary in-charge of the state, was named as the head of the coordination committee, while K Muraleedharan was named the head of the campaign committee. Rahul Gandhi also formed the party's publicity committee and the media coordination committee in the state. He also formed the election committee, coordination committee, campaign committee, publicity committee, manifesto committee, the media coordination committee, among other election-related panels, of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC).

Besides the Lok Sabha polls, the assembly elections are also due in Andhra Pradesh this year.

Gandhi also named vice presidents and general secretaries of the APCC. In other appointments, he named state chiefs of the Kisan Congress in Assam, Manipur, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

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On Monday, after participating in mammoth roadshow which marked the entry of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra into politics, Congress president Rahul Gandhi had said that the Congress will come back in power in Uttar Pradesh. "Congress started in UP and can't remain weak here. I've given the job of strengthening the party here to Priyanka Ji and Jyotiraditya Ji. Lok Sabha polls are approaching and I told them that we should perform better in it and our government should form here after Assembly polls too," Rahul Gandhi had said.

Earlier, the Congress cited a media report claiming that the government waived anti-corruption clauses in the Rafale deal to call for a probe into "who paid whom", with party chief Rahul Gandhi alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "opened the door" to allow industrialist Anil Ambani to "steal" Rs 30,000 crore from the Air Force.

"NoMo anti-corruption clause. The Chowkidar himself opened the door to allow Anil Ambani to steal 30,000 Cr. from the IAF (sic)," Gandhi tweeted, tagging the report. The government, as well as Ambani, whose company is offset partner under the deal, have strongly refuted allegations of any wrongdoing in the fighter jet agreement with France.