AICC Vice-President Rahul Gandhi landed at the Begumpet airport by a special aircraft from New Delhi this afternoon.
A large number of Congress leaders, including Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president Uttam Kumar Reddy, and thousands of party workers accorded him a tumultuous welcome.
Immediately after arrival, Gandhi drove down to the Somajiguda circle and garlanded the statue of his father and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Later he left for Sangareddy in a huge rally.
The police gave up trying to control the over-enthusiastic Congress activists.
It may be mentioned here that erstwhile Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had addressed a huge public meeting at Sangareddy in 1978 and returned to power in the 1980 general elections. Therefore, the Congress thinktank has selected Sangareddy for the AICC vice-president's poll bugle. They are fervently hoping that Rahul Gandhi will be able to persuade the people of Telangana that Congress president Sonia Gandhi had conceded statehood for Telangana, and despite a number of hurdles. The party bit the dust in the 2014 elections despite that, and is hoping for better luck in 2019.