Priyanka Gandhi to begin 3-day UP poll visit from today

New Delhi: With the Congress having announced candidates from 11 out of the total 80 Lok Sabha seats from the politially significant Uttar Pradesh for the forthcoming general elections, party general secretary for eastern Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, will undertake a three-day long visit to the state starting on March 8.

She is expected to hold detailed discussions with block and district level as well as state level leaders from the state, to discuss the strategy as well as candidates for the general elections.

Sources said that after holding day-long parleys with party leaders in Lucknow on March 8, she is expected to visit Rae Bareli and Prayagraj during the weekend.

In what would be her second visit to the state after becoming general secretary in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, it is understood that Ms Gandhi is likely to discuss prospective candidates from the state for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, especially from eastern Uttar Pradesh during her meeting with district and block level leaders of the party.

During her previous visit to Uttar Pradesh last month, Ms Gandhi had asked party workers to strengthen the booth level management, after it was discovered that many workers did not even know their respective booth numbers. The newly inducted general secretary has been focussing on boosting the morale of the party’s workers in the state, where the Congress has been trying to revive itself since the past almost 30 years now. She has asked party workers and leaders to focus on the 21 seats which the Congress had won in 2009 elections in Uttar Pradesh.

In the list announced by Congress on Thursday, eight out of the 11 seats announced from Uttar Pradesh are those which it had won in 2009. The same winning candidates have been named this time round too from these seats.