Rahul Gandhi to Visit Balaghat on October 1, Meet Families of Tribal Children Who Died

Bhopal/Balaghat, September 29, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to visit Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat district on October 1 to meet families of tribal children who died amid a health crisis in the region, state Congress leader Umang Singhar said.

Singhar said Gandhi would visit the affected tribal areas of Baihar and Birsa to meet the families of deceased children and assess the situation on the ground. The planned visit comes amid continuing concern over child deaths in remote villages inhabited largely by the Baiga tribal community.

“The Madhya Pradesh government has become negligent. More than 22 tribal children have died, and Rahul Gandhi will meet the affected families to assess the ground reality,” Singhar, the Leader of Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, told IANS.

According to government figures cited in the report, 20 children have died in the affected areas. The deaths have raised concerns about healthcare services, nutrition and access to timely medical treatment in the tribal belt.

A central National Joint Outbreak Response Team investigated 196 cases, including 156 involving children below the age of 10. Its findings pointed to multiple health factors rather than a single disease. Of the 64 samples tested, 25 were positive for measles, while 27 of 32 patients tested positive for malaria.

The health crisis has brought renewed attention to healthcare and nutrition challenges faced by tribal communities in Madhya Pradesh. According to Census 2011 data, Scheduled Tribes account for around 21 per cent of the state’s population, while 47 of the 230 Assembly constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Tribes.

Balaghat, a forested and predominantly tribal district bordering Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, was previously among Madhya Pradesh’s major Naxal-affected areas. The state government has recently declared Madhya Pradesh free of Naxalism following security operations and surrenders in Balaghat.

Gandhi’s proposed visit comes 13 days after his previous visit to Madhya Pradesh. He visited Indore on September 19, where he addressed the Chhatron Ki Goonj programme and raised issues related to students, education and employment.

The next Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in 2028.