Rahul Gandhi to begin Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage

The Congress leader had announced his wish to go to the Shiva shrine in Mansarovar  at a rally in the national capital on April 29. His actual pilgrimage will start on September 1.

According to The Times of India, the journey comes at a time when his temple runs, which started with the Gujarat election campaign and continued into the Karnataka polls, have become a discussion point. While Rahul said he was always a believing Hindu, political circles believe that it was an attempt to shed the "pro-minority" tag of the Congress and match the religious appeal of the BJP that may have cast a spell on a considerable section of people.

In January, the All India Congress Committee had asked party’s state units in Rajasthan to prepare a list of temples which Gandhi could visit to derive political mileage in election season, Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar had reported.

In Gujarat, the Congress president had visited over 27 temples during the election season, including the Vir Meghmaya Temple in Patan, Bahucharji Temple in Mehsana and Khotidyar Temple in Varana.

In Karnataka, he had visited Shringeri Sharadamba Temple in Chikmagalur district. The Congress president had met Sringeri mutt pontiff Bharati Tirtha Swami. He had also visited Dodda Ganapathi temple at Basavanagudi in Bengaluru.