NEW DELHI: The Congress is expected to start its campaign for Uttar Pradesh elections on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti on October 2 from Lucknow and the plan will be given the final go-ahead by Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra during her visit to the state capital later this week.
During her visit on September 10-11, she is scheduled to hold meetings with party functionaries and state election and advisory committees to chalk out strategy for the Assembly elections early next year. The party is planning to hold a big rally in Lucknow on October 2 that will be addressed by Priyanka and other senior party leaders to launch the party’s campaign. This comes at a time when the party is looking at a revival in the key state. The party in 2017 had contested elections in alliance with Samajwadi Party and won only seven seats.
Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu has made it clear that the party will not tie-up with bigger parties in the state. Rather, it will be looking at alliances with smaller parties. The party candidates who won elections and those who stood in second position in 2017 are expected to be fielded again this time.
The grand old party has held training workshops for party workers and leaders ahead of the elections.
Rahul to visit Jammu
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be on a two-day visit to Jammu from Thursday, during which he will pay obeisance at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra. Gandhi will leave for Jammu on Thursday and participate in the evening ‘aarti’ at the temple. He will stay at the shrine board’s guesthouse, sources said. The former Congress chief will address a workers’ convention at Jammu on Friday and meet separate delegations of local leaders during a luncheon meeting, they said. He will return to Delhi late in the evening, parrty sources said.