LUCKNOW: After being made AICC general secretary in charge of Lok Sabha constituencies in eastern UP, will Priyanka Gandhi contest from Rae Bareli, replacing her mother Sonia Gandhi who has not been keeping too well? Congress sources indicated it was likely. Sonia has held the seat for the last five terms.

The party’s strategy for UP also includes a Ram temple pitch by Congress president Rahul Gandhi to steal BJP’s thunder.

Priyanka’s sudden elevation is also timed with ED summons to her husband Robert Vadra on February 12.

Congress insiders say the party is drawing up a plan for Rahul’s temple visits, including a ‘rudrabhishek’ at Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi, a visit to Gorakhpur mandir and an impromptu visit to Ram Lala’s makeshift temple in Ayodhya .

His planned temple visits are also aimed at flaunting his Hindu credentials and curtail the influence of PM Narendra Modi and UP CM Yogi Adityanath.

For the Ayodhya temple visit, the idea is being actively considered by the party’s election strategists before it’s finalised.



In Video: Priyanka Gandhi takes political plunge, appointed as AICC general secretary