The Indian Herald: Online English Newspaper: Priyanka to contest from Uttar Pradesh!
Priyanka to contest from Uttar Pradesh!
Beleaguered Congress workers want Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra to contest election from Uttar Pradesh to revive the party that has almost vanished in the state.
Hoping that Priyanka's election campaign would revive the party's chances in UP, the State Congress Committee has urged the party chief Sonia Gandhi to field her daughter Priyanka in the Lok Sabha election.
They hope that the electorate would vote for her charisma and remind them of her grandmother, late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Priyanka is urged to contest from Sultanpur, Moradabad and Allahabad.
These are considered comparatively safe constituencies for Priyanka. UPCC chief Dr Reeta Bahuguna Joshi has said that district congress committees have communicated to the party high-command that they want Priyanka to be fielded in the election, as it can turn the tide in Congress' favour.
From mid-80s when the Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid dispute came to focus, Congress has steadily lost its base in India' most populous state. First, BJP prospered at the expense of Congress.
Later the caste-based politics further relegated the party to the background as SP, BSP became the major players and Ajit Singh's party occupied the remaining space, and Congress lost its old bastion.