Delhi polls: Rahul Gandhi skips another rally; party says he is unwell

A sizeable crowd gathered at Shahzada Bagh at Sadar constituency in Delhi, eager to catch a glimpse of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The crowd, which began assembling around 4:30 pm, was assured by Congress leaders, including Sadar candidate Anil Bhardwaj, that Rahul would soon address them.

Hours passed, and frustration began to mount, though various leaders gave regular updates at 6 pm, 7 pm and even 7:30 pm on Rahul's imminent arrival.

Final message by 8 pm

However, shortly after 8 pm, Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav announced that Rahul would not turn up at all. Reason: Rahul is unwell. As the crowd started howling and hooting, Yadav said Rahul had sent a message to voters in Sadar, appealing to them to vote for the Congress.

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Interestingly, the party's Delhi unit announced the public meeting in Sadar around 1:15 pm earlier today. According to party sources, the meeting was arranged after Rahul confirmed his availability. Despite the short notice, a large crowd had gathered by 5 pm at the venue. Adding to the drama, until nearly 7 pm, the Delhi Congress Twitter handle and other leaders continued to post videos and images, claiming a massive turnout and assuring that Rahul would join them shortly. Alas, it was not to be.

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Not the first time Rahul skipping event

On January 20, Rahul was supposed to lead a padayatra in the New Delhi Assembly segment where the Congress has fielded Sandeep Dikshit against AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal. However, the padyatra was called off at short notice without explanation. Next day, Rahul also skipped his party Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhaan rally in Karnataka's Belgaum.

Last month, Rahul was supposed to address a Nyay Chaupal in Delhi where he was scheduled to interact with people from different walks of life. On the eve of the event, the Delhi Congress said the event had been cancelled but gave no reason.

'Only one meeting so far'

This election season, Rahul Gandhi has held just one public meeting in Delhi, on January 14 in Seelampur, where he claimed that there was "no difference between Arvind Kejriwal and Narendra Modi''.

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