After Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah took out a rally in Vidarbha in support of their candidates, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior MP Rahul Gandhi will launch their Lok Sabha election campaign this weekend in the region, party officials said on Friday.

Gandhi will address an election campaign rally at Bhandara-Gondia Lok Sabha Constituency on Saturday in support of party candidate Dr Prashant Yadavrao Padole.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will address an election campaign rally on Sunday at Nagpur, party sources said on Friday.

A public meeting of Rahul Gandhi will be held in the Gajanan Maharaj temple grounds at Sakoli

in Bhandara district.

On Sunday, Kharge will reach Nagpur and address a rally for the INDIA bloc nominee Vikas Thakare of the Congress, who is pitted against the BJP strongman and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.

This public meeting is being held to enlist support to the Congress candidate and MLA Vikas Thackeray in Nagpur Lok Sabha constituency. Before this, Mallikarjun Kharge will visit

Dikshabhumi in the morning on Sunday.

At both meetings, the Congress top brass, including state president Nana Patole, Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar, Congress Legislative Party leader Balasaheb Thorat, NCP(SP) state president Jayant Patil, besides leaders of other MVA allies like Shiv Sena (UBT) and other parties’ representatives shall be present.

Five Lok Sabha constituencies in the eastern Vidarbha region are slated to go for polls on April 19, Ramtek (SC), Gadchiroli-Chimur (ST), Nagpur, Chandrapur and Bhandara-Gondiya.

The BJP has already started election campaigning now congress also started their campaign. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 8 conducted a rally at Chandrapur in support of Sudhir Mungantiwar.

Moreover, on Thursday, Amit Shah addressed a rally at Nanded in support of MP Prataprao Chikhlikar. He targeted MVA and termed it a directionless auto rickshaw composed of fake Shiv Sena and NCP factions and a half dead Congress. He had also targeted Congress for playing politics over the Ram Mandir consecration ceremony.