Bangalore, Apr 22: Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi's five-day visit to Karnataka last month, is being seen as a source of inspiration for the party's young brigade in the state.

A majority of the young leaders in the Karnataka Congress feel that Rahul Gandhi's visit will help youngsters in the party to come forward to take the mantle of leadership forward.

For them, Gandhi is an idol and the spirit behind the party's rejuvenation in the state, claimed M. R. Seetharam, a second-generation leader. He feels that Rahul Gandhi's visit has changed the face of the party in the state and is confident that it would help in getting the youth back to the Congress.

A two-time MLA and now contesting from the Malleshwaram constituency in Bangalore, Seetharam compares Rahul's interaction with the youth to what his late father Rajiv Gandhi did in the late 1980s following the death of Indira Gandhi

For Dinesh Gundu Rao, another young Congress Turk, Rahul Gandhi is an inspiration. This son of former Karnataka Chief Minister R Gundu Rao, says Rajiv Gandhi's son is an inspiration and idol for many like him.

A two-time MLA who is contesting from Gandhinagar constituency in Bangalore, Dinesh says that Rahul Gandh's visit has encouraged the youth to join the party fold.

"Youth icon Rahul Gandhi's visit to state has rejuvenated the young and their aspirations to take it forward," he adds. (ANI)