Congress president Rahul Gandhi began his roadshow here on Monday after taking blessings from 11 Hindu priests as he kick-started his party's campaign in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh. The 48-year-old Congress chief, whom the main opposition party in the state has been describing a 'Shiv bhakt' in banners and posters put up in Bhopal, arrived at the airport here earlier to a grand welcome.

Gandhi was received at the airport by Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath and senior party leader and Guna MP Jyotiraditya Scindia among others. As he stepped out from the airport, several Congressmen holding the party flags chanted "Rahul Gandhi Zindabad". Hindu priests, chanting mantras, blessed Gandhi as he reached the Lalgathi area, amid a heavy security cover, to launch the poll campaign in Madhya Pradesh where the BJP has been ruling for the last 15 years.