Chennai, Aug 1 (IANS) Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi arrived in Chennai on Saturday to participate in the concluding session of a training camp for Tamil Nadu Congress district presidents near Mamallapuram, where he is expected to focus on strengthening the party organisation and rebuilding its grassroots network in the state.
Gandhi, who flew in from New Delhi, landed at Chennai airport and was accorded a warm reception by Congress leaders and workers.
Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president Manickam Tagore, Minister P. Viswanathan and other senior party functionaries were among those who received him at the airport.
From the airport, Gandhi travelled to Mamallapuram on the East Coast Road, where the Tamil Nadu Congress has been conducting a training programme for its district-level leadership since July 23.
The camp, attended by 74 District Congress Committee presidents, is being held at a beach resort near Mamallapuram. Gandhi will participate in the concluding day’s proceedings and interact with the district presidents on organisational and political issues.
Party sources said the interaction would be held behind closed doors without media access. Gandhi is expected to discuss measures to strengthen the Congress at the booth and district levels and prepare the organisation for future political challenges in Tamil Nadu.
The meeting assumes significance as the Congress seeks to consolidate its position in the state after becoming part of the Tamil Nadu government, marking its return to power-sharing in the state nearly six decades after it lost power in 1967.
Gandhi is also expected to meet the family members of the district Congress presidents attending the programme. Congress Ministers S. Rajesh Kumar and P. Viswanathan, along with senior State leaders and office-bearers, are expected to participate in various sessions.
Later in the day, Gandhi is scheduled to hold a separate meeting with key Congress functionaries around 4 p.m., during which the party’s organisational position and its future strategy in Tamil Nadu are likely to be discussed.
Party leaders are also making arrangements for Gandhi to meet the parents of four students from Coimbatore and Salem who died in incidents linked to the NEET examination.
After completing his engagements, Gandhi is expected to return to Chennai and leave for New Delhi by a flight around 7 p.m. on Saturday itself
–IANS
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