According to the report of ANI news agency, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is on a ‘personal visit’ abroad, is expected to return to India in the second week of January, ahead of the high-profile assembly elections in five states this year. The former Congress president embarked on the journey in December, months before the crucial state elections scheduled for February and March. Despite the fact that the party did not reveal the location of Gandhi’s visit, reports suggested that he had travelled to Italy.

Assembly election preparations are already underway in five states: Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. They are seen as a key test for the Congress, not only in terms of its ability to contain the BJP, but also in terms of its position as the main challenger to the ruling party at the federal level.

According to the news agency, the Congress is seen as having better prospects in the poll-bound states of Punjab and Uttarakhand, but the situation has been complicated by a series of decisions made in recent weeks. The party is experiencing infighting in both states, according to the report, and Rahul Gandhi, who makes crucial decisions without holding a formal senior party position, is seen as “missing from action.”

According to the ANI news agency, which cites party officials familiar with the situation, the Congress leader is expected to return to the country next week and take charge of the situation himself. According to the report, Gandhi has been in contact with senior party officials and has assessed the entire electoral situation in several states.

Notably, Rahul Gandhi had previously travelled abroad just prior to the start of the winter session of Parliament, and is said to have returned a day before the session began. Meanwhile, his overseas trips have been criticised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other political parties as a means of securing electoral positions ahead of the elections.

Mamata Banerjee, whose party is vying to become the main challenger to the BJP, recently took a shot at Rahul Gandhi, saying that no one can do politics while spending “half the time” abroad.

Rahul Gandhi is on a “brief personal visit,” according to Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala, and the BJP and “its media friends” should not spread rumours unnecessarily.

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