Jagdalpur (Chhattisgarh): They cheered, clapped and climbed atop chairs to catch a glimpse of Rahul Gandhi, but at the end of it all, for the locals and tribals of Bastar, the Congress vice president was just a celebrity as he was “Indira Gandhi's grandson”.
The Gandhi scion has arrived here for a rally to address issues related to tribals who dominate the region, with assembly elections due in the state in November.
The tribals of Bastar voted overwhelmingly for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2008 assembly elections with the party bagging 11 of the 12 seats from the region.
In his speech, Gandhi talked about how the tribals are being neglected with regard to land, health and education issues. But it seemed, the Congress vice-president failed to strike a chord with the tribals who were treating him more as a celebrity than a leader.
