Ghulam Nabi Azad, the new Congress General Secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, on Thursday favoured Priyanka Gandhi campaigning outside Amethi and Rae Bareli for the state Assembly elections in 2017.
Azad was asked by reporters whether Gandhi, who has been focusing on the Assembly segments in Amethi and Rae Bareli Parliamentary constituencies so far, would be campaigning outside to help party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi.
I do hope that she will definitely campaign in some other places as per time available to her.Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress General Secretary, Uttar Pradesh.
Azad will be going to Lucknow on Friday for a two-day brainstorming session with senior state leaders on the strategy ahead. He has already said the Congress will project a chief ministerial candidate.
Talking separately at the AICC briefing, senior party spokesperson Ajay Maken said it was up to Priyanka to decide when she wanted to get into active politics.
In Uttar Pradesh, Congress had secured just two seats in the last Lok Sabha elections with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi emerging victorious from their traditional seats of Rae Bareli and Amethi respectively.
The Congress has been in political wilderness in Uttar Pradesh since 1989, following the emergence of divisive ‘Mandal-Mandir’ politics and rise of the BSP, which took away its crucial Dalit vote base.
(With inputs from PTI)
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