Under BJP & Sena's attack, Rahul Gandhi may visit Maharashtra next week

Under attack from the ruling BJP and Shiv Sena for not turning up yet for the Congress's Maharashtra Assembly poll campaign, Rahul Gandhi is likely to visit the state between October 13 and 15, sources in his party said on Wednesday.

However, the details of his visit were yet to be finalised, the sources said.

"These are all tentative details. He is likely to visit Mumbai on October 13. He is expected to fan other regions of the state over the next two days. The details are yet to be worked out," they said.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis hit out at the opposition, particularly the Congress, saying they have accepted defeat ahead of the Assembly polls as seen by Gandhi's absence from the poll campaign.

"They are already in defeatist frame of mind. I read in newspapers that Rahul Gandhi is in Bangkok," Fadnavis said at a rally at Ner in Dhule district of north Maharashtra.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray also took a dig at the Congress saying that the state leaders should accept the defeat as Rahul Gandhi is going abroad instead of campaigning for the party in Maharashtra.

Addressing a rally in Ahmednagar district on Wednesday, Thackeray said, "Congress leaders in Maharashtra should accept the defeat and go home istead of contesting the assembly elections. Their leader (Rahul Gandhi) has gone to Bangkok."

The rally was held in Sangamner, from where Congress's state unit chief and seven-time MLA Balasaheb Thorat is contesting the election.

"The recently-released manifesto of Congress-NCP promises to give 80 per cent reservation for the sons-of-the- soil in all sectors, but it was the Sena which had first raised this demand," Thackeray said while campaigning for his party's candidate, Sahebrao Navale.

"Leaders like Sharad Pawar have now become jobless because of our growing power. They must have realised what it means to be jobless," he said. Get access to India's fastest growing financial subscriptions service Moneycontrol Pro for as little as Rs 599 for first year. Use the code "GETPRO". Moneycontrol Pro offers you all the information you need for wealth creation including actionable investment ideas, independent research and insights & analysis For more information, check out the Moneycontrol website or mobile app.