Thaindian News

Amethi (Uttar Pradesh), Jan 16 (IANS) After a long break from grassroots politics, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s daughter Priyanka Vadra campaigned in her brother Rahul Gandhi’s constituency Monday, claiming that the party will either form the next government in Uttar Pradesh or be a part of the ruling coalition.

“We will either form our own government or join hands with another political outfit to be a part of the ruling coalition in Uttar Pradesh,” she is stated to have told partymen with whom she held closed-door parleys at the guest house of Sanjay Gandhi Hospital run by the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation here.

While she completely shunned the media, whose teams were stationed outside the heavily guarded guest house, local party functionaries who met her told mediaperons that Priyanka was quite upbeat about the Congress’ prospects.

She told Congress workers that she would limit her campaign only to the five assembly segments within the Amethi parliamentary constituency and likewise the five assembly segments of her mother’s Rae Bareli parliamentary constituency.

“Rahul has been working hard in Uttar Pradesh and I am sure his efforts will bring rich dividends,” she told partymen. “I have assured Rahul that I will join him in ensuring that the Congress wins all the ten assembly seats in Amethi and Rae Bareli this time.”

As of now, Congress holds three assembly seats in Amethi and four in Rae Bareli.

She laid particular emphasis on seats where the Congress had lost by a thin margin in the last elections.

Earlier, she arrived from New Delhi in a chartered aircraft which landed at an airstrip at Indira Gandhi Flying Academy in Fursatganj, about 35 km from here. Attired in a red saree, she went about acknowledging the greetings of locals who lined up to cheer her along the route to the guest house.

Even as she confined herself to the guest house, women supporters of the party went about chanting slogans supporting her. Other workers raised cries of “Priyanka Gandhi zindabad”.

Uttar Pradesh sends 80 members to the national parliament and has a 403-member state assembly to which elections are to be held in a seven-phase schedule between Feb 8 and March 4.