Rahul Gandhi on another 'personal tour' abroad, a month after his London trip

With Assembly elections in five important states just months away, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi flew overseas on Wednesday morning for "a personal visit," according to the party.

"Rahul Gandhi is on a brief personal visit. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its media friends should not spread rumours unnecessarily," Congress General Secretary Randeep Surjewala told ANI.

This comes only days after Gandhi returned from a month-long journey overseas in preparation for the winter session of Parliament. The former Amethi returned a day before the session began.

The ruling party's officials have previously questioned Rahul Gandhi's frequent mysterious'personal visits, prompting the Congress to issue a statement urging opponents not to propagate rumours.

"Rahul Gandhi is on a brief personal visit. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its media friends should not spread rumours unnecessarily," Congress General Secretary Randeep Surjewala told ANI.

The party has not revealed the location of his visit or the date of his return.

This isn't the first time Gandhi has gone on an enigmatic journey abroad. According to the Modi government, Rahul travelled overseas at least 247 times between 2015 and 2019, averaging five times each month. He has already visited Bangkok prior to the Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections.

Congress afterwards issued a statement claiming that the former party president had gone on a'meditational journey.'

He went to London for a month last month.

Rahul's trip abroad, on the other hand, comes as political parties ramp up their campaigns for next year's elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa, and Manipur.

On January 3, Rahul was set to speak at a party event in Punjab's Moga district to kick off campaigning in the state, where the party is already in control. It is, however, likely to be postponed today.

According to party sources, the BJP will kick off its election campaign in Punjab on January 5, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to hold a rally there.

This will be Prime Minister Modi's first rally in Punjab after three agriculture laws were repealed. The BJP has previously stated that it would campaign in the state in collaboration with Captain Amarinder Singh's Punjab Lok Congress Party.

Meanwhile, sources within the Congress claim that the demonstration in Punjab will not start till Rahul returns to the country.