Bhubaneswar: In an obvious bid to woo the people from minority communities ahead of the general elections, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday exclusively met their leaders at a separate place in Odisha's state capital here.
The Congress election campaign chief, who began his two-day visit to the state, had interaction with the members of Muslim, Christian, Sikh and Buddhist communities, sources said.
The Nehru-Gandhi scion's focus on the minority communities keeping an eye on the next general elections, was obvious as he was instrumental in according minority status to Jains. The Union Cabinet recently gave minority status to Jain community after Gandhi's demand.
As the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is scheduled to address a public meeting here on Tuesday Gandhi, sources said, did not want to take a chance in wooing the members of the minority communities of the state.
While he held discussion with the minority community members, media was not allowed for coverage.
"Rahulji did not want to make his meeting with minority communities be made public," said a senior Congress leader said.
Sources said the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) had earlier invited selected members of the minority community to have interaction with the party's vice-president.