Priyanka Gandhi (Live Mint)
Priyanka Gandhi, the daughter of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, will take the reins as the leader of the party’s campaign in Uttar Pradesh, ahead of the state polls in 2017. An official announcement in this regard will be made once Rahul Gandhi is back in India in mid-July. She is expected to hold 150 rallies across the state in the next few months.
Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Satya Dev Tripathi confirmed Priyanka will be expanding her reach by holding rallies across the state, the details of which will be finalised once her brother, Rahul Gandhi, is back in the country. In the past, Priyanka has restricted her campaigning to family constituencies, Amethi and Rae Bareli.
Priyanka was rumoured to take up the challenge of Uttar Pradesh a while ago, when the Congress began defending her husband Robert Vadra against allegations by the BJP that he is involved in illegal land deals. The party dared the saffron party to prove their allegations, calling it a “conspiracy”. The rallying of support, coupled with poll strategist Prashant Kishore’s suggestion to make her the chief ministerial candidate made this an easy guess. Party workers have also been demanding “Priyanka lao, Congress bachao”.