Shillong: Congress president Sonia Gandhi and AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi would campaign in Meghalaya for the March three assembly polls.

AICC Joint secretary Major Ved Prakash told reporters here today that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would also tour the state sometime in mid-February.

"In Gujarat, Modi triumphed riding on emotional tactics, whereas in Himachal it was the anti-incumbency factor, that paved the way for the BJP but in Meghalaya the nuances are different. The combined impact of the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance will definitely ensure Congress victory", Prakash, who is on a week-long visit to the state, said.

Optimistic that the party would be able to grab a majority in the elections, the Congress leader, who was the former party-in-charge of the state, also denied reports about rifts within the state unit of the party.

When asked about the crisis faced by the party last year that saw the toppling of D D Lapang as the chief minister by some rebel Congress legislators, he said, "It was because of the constitutional amendment which cut the size of the ministry from 40 to 12. "The MLAs who were left out were disgruntled.

"It is natural. But now the differences have been sorted out", he said. Asked about the chief ministerial candidate, Prakash said "Congress never declares its chief ministerial candidate. It is up to the elected MLAs to decide their leader after the elections".

Source : PTI