'Jhumur' dance, temple run as Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visits Assam

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra paid a visit to the famous Kamakhya temple in Guwahati, shook a leg with girls from tea tribes and launched a protest programme for unemployed youths as the Congress leader began her two-day visit to poll-bound Assam on Monday.

In a video posted on the Congress party’s official Twitter handle, the Congress general secretary was seen participating in the Jhumur dance with girls from the tea tribes in Lakhimpur, Assam. Dressed in a purple mekhela chador and the traditional scarf of the state, Vadra was smiling as she danced, surrounded by young girls, all dressed in red and white sarees, in the minute-long video.

Watch: Priyanka Gandhi’s ‘Jhumur’ dance in Assam; prays at Kamakhya temple





Before that Vadra offered prayers at the Kamakhya temple, the shakti-peeth dedicated to Goddess Kamakhya on Nilachal Hill of Guwahati. "Today I got the good fortune of seeing mother Kamakhya. I prayed for the welfare of all the countrymen to Kamakhya," she tweeted after her prayers.

Clad in a red Ikat salwar kameez, the Congress leader said that she wanted to visit the temple for a long time and "her wish has come true". "I sought blessings for myself, my family and above all for the people of Assam," she told reporters.

After visiting the Kamakhya shrine, Vadra went to Lakhimpur in Upper Assam where she visited the Sonari gram panchayat and held a meeting with party workers and launched a protest programme for unemployed youths.

Gandhi is also scheduled to visit the birthplace of Srimanta Sankardeva's primary disciple Sri Madhavdev at Letekupukhuri before leaving for Gohpur in the Bishwanath district. She will also interact with women tea garden workers and self-help group members and spend the night in the Bishwanath district.

On Tuesday, the Congress leader will visit Sadharu tea estate in Biswanath, where she will interact with women tea garden workers, before leaving for Tezpur in the Sonitpur district. She is also scheduled to visit the Mahabhirav Temple and address a public rally at Tezpur, before concluding her two-day visit to the state.

Elections to the 126-member Assam assembly will be held in three phases, with 39 seats going to polls in the second phase on April 1 and 40 in the third and final phase on April 6. Votes will be counted on May 2.

(With agency inputs)