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Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh (AP) — Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was forced to stay overnight in Shahdol district in Madhya Pradesh due to inclement weather, according to a party official on Monday.

 

Gandhi, who is in the state for his party's Lok Sabha campaign, had addressed two rallies earlier in Mandla and Shahdol, both slated for polls on April 26.

 

 However, his plans to depart for Jabalpur and then to Delhi were hindered as his helicopter could not take off due to adverse weather conditions, said MP Congress chief Jitu Patwari.

 

"His helicopter could not take off due to bad weather in Shahdol. Gandhi was supposed to fly to Jabalpur from where he was to leave for Delhi," Patwari told PTI.

 

As a result, Gandhi is set to spend the night in a hotel in Shahdol and is expected to depart at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Patwari informed.

 

However, BJP leaders, including former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, offered a different explanation, claiming that Gandhi's helicopter had run out of fuel.

 

Addressing a gathering in Chawalpani under the Chhindwara LS seat on Monday night, Chouhan remarked, "Rahul Gandhi came to Shahdol today but his helicopter couldn't take off because of a shortage of fuel. If the fuel of the Congress has run out, how will there be fuel for Rahul's helicopter?"

Chouhan also took a dig at the Congress leadership, suggesting a lack of momentum.

 

 "The Congress is not taking off like Rahul Gandhi's helicopter. No matter how much Madam Sonia Gandhi pushes him, Rahul Gandhi will not take off," he added.

 

Chouhan further commented on the political career of Nakul Nath, the Congress' sitting MP from Chhindwara, saying it's also not gaining traction.

 

 Nath is contesting against BJP's Vivek Bunty Sahu in Chhindwara, the only seat the BJP failed to secure in Madhya Pradesh during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.