Nagpur, Jan 27 (IANS) Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi arrived here Thursday on a three-day whirlwind tour of Maharashtra to boost the party's membership drive among backward castes, minorities and women.

After landing in Nagpur, Gandhi proceeded by helicopter to attend a Scheduled Tribes convention in Gadchiroli. He will also attend an Other Backward Castes (OBC) convention in Buldhana and a minority meet in Parbhani.

He will Friday attend a Scheduled Castes convention in Osmanabad, a meeting of potential candidates for elections in Dhule and a young women's convention at Shirdi in Ahmednagar district, according to an official announcement.

He will also attend a meeting of the state Congress in Aurangabad in the evening.

Gandhi will Saturday morning address the media in Aurangabad before leaving for the coastal Konkan region, where his first halt will be Thane to attend a Scheduled Tribes convention in Palghar.

Then he will go to Mahad in Raigad for a meeting with elected representatives, followed by a nomadic tribes convention in Satara.

His previous visit to Maharashtra - Sep 7 last year - was dedicated to meetings and interactions with college students and the youth across the state.

He had met students and youth in educational institutions in Akola, Aurangabad and Pune, and urged them to join mainstream politics.