lok-sabha-elections

Updated: Feb 18, 2019 08:25 IST

Congress general secretary and the party’s east Uttar Pradesh incharge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will visit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi as part of her four-day tour this month to assess the ground situation in the region under her charge, according to a senior party leader familiar with the development.

“She will visit the state this month, and this could happen before the Congress Working Committee meets in Ahmedabad on February 28,” said the leader cited in the first instance who asked not to be named.

Priyanka Gandhi and the Congress general secretary in-charge of west Uttar Pradesh, Jyotiraditya Scindia, wrapped up a four-day visit to the state on February 14, during which they had marathon meetings with party leaders and workers from different constituencies.

While Priyanka Gandhi has 41 Lok Sabha constituencies under her charge, Scindia will look after 39 seats.

“The cadre is energised and charged up after meeting Priyankaji and Scindiaji for three days. They heard each and every party worker. The party is now fully prepared to go into the electoral battlefield with full might,” said Prakash Joshi, All India Congress Committee secretary, UP.

In her meeting with party leaders from Varanasi, Priyanka Gandhi sought feedback of development works carried out at the Prime Minister’s initiative for the past five years.

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Responding to this, UP BJP general secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak said, “That’s wonderful. This would provide her knowledge of how under Modi, Kashi is progressing like the rest of the country. It would also make her realise the follies of her family, which ran this country for over 60 years. Lastly, a Kashi visit would also convince her why Modi will return not just as Kashi MP but also as the country’s PM.”

Apart from visiting Varanasi, Priyanka will meet the families of the slain CRPF personnel, and the families of those who died by consuming spurious liquor in Kushinagar. A group of leaders and workers from Allahabad has also suggested that she take a holy dip in the ongoing Kumbh Mela on March 4.

Another Congress leader said that small road shows have been planned during her visit to the parliamentary constituencies to meet block- and booth-level workers to seek their views about potential candidates for general elections.

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This is the first time that Priyanka Gandhi has stepped out of the family bastion of Rae Bareli and Amethi. She is expected to make organisational changes in Uttar Pradesh in the next few days. There are two views in the party about the proposed reshuffle. While one view is that there should be two state chiefs for east and west UP, another line of thinking is that there should be one state chief and two working presidents for both regions.