For the Congress party, the upcoming polls in Uttar Pradesh will be fought under the leadership of general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, a point which the top leadership had made clear on multiple occasions. However, who will be the chief ministerial candidate in the crucial state? Will Priyanka herself be announced as the candidate for the top job? When asked this question at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, Congress leader Salman Khurshid stated: "The Congress would contest the UP assembly polls under party Priyanka’s leadership, and she herself would decide on the issue of whether she would be party’s chief ministerial candidate," Khurshid stated.
Congress would contest the UP assembly polls under party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s leadership & she herself would decide on the issue of whether she would be party’s chief ministerial candidate or not: Congress leader Salman Khurshid in Prayagraj (18.09) pic.twitter.com/aFWDl151EO
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 18, 2021
In the past week, Priyanka had held marathon meetings with party office-bearers, and said their views would be crucial in the distribution of tickets for the upcoming polls. Priyanka Gandhi on Sunday toured Rae Bareli constituency, the bastion of the Gandhi family since the days of Indira Gandhi. Rae Bareli has five assembly seats out of which two are with the Congress and the BJP each, and one is with the Samajwadi Party. Congress president Sonia Gandhi represents the Rae Bareli constituency in the Lok Sabha. According to Rae Bareli district Congress committee spokesperson Vinay Dwivedi, office bearers of the district unit and city unit of the party met Priyanka Gandhi. Members of various frontal organisations, party candidates and zila panchayat members of the Congress also met her.
During her visit to UP, she exhorted party workers to work round the clock for the polls and had said that a strong Congress organisation was equally important for nation-building. The party also told prospective candidates to submit applications by September 26, a party leader had said.
To a question on the possibility of Priyanka contesting the UP assembly polls, BJP spokesperson and Union Minister Giriraj Singh had said it is not going to make a difference. He also praised Smriti Irani, saying under her, the constituency has started off on the path of development. He exuded confidence that under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the BJP will form a government with full majority in the upcoming assembly polls.
-Inputs from PTI
