After allotting 40 per cent tickets to women candidates for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, the Congress party will now pay special attention to campaigning for them.
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday released the party's first list of 125 candidates for Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls that will begin from February 10.
"The Congress party has released a list of 125 candidates who will be contesting for the upcoming Assembly election. Of these, 50 are women. We have tried to include those who fight for the rights of the common man and with this historic initiative, we hope to bring in a new kind of politics in the country," the Congress leader said.
Announcing the list of candidates, she stated that 50 candidates are women including Asha Singh, mother of the Unnao rape victim. From Shahjahanpur, we have fielded Asha worker, Poonam Pandey who led agitation for an increase in honorarium.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, in charge of Uttar Pradesh Congress, decided to contest UP polls using the slogan "Ladki Hoon, Lad Sakti Hoon" and gave women a staggering 40 per cent participation.
Sources also said that Priyanka wanted to give 50 per cent tickets to women candidates, but many senior party leaders told her to give only 33 per cent tickets.
Finally, she chose a middle path and announced to give 40 per cent tickets to women this time, sources added.
Speaking to some women candidates including Sadqf Jafar, Shamina Shafiq, Pankhuri Pathak and many more, they informed that Priyanka Gandhi has personally decided to make efforts for the victory of more and more women candidates in the polls.
"In the last one year, the Congress party also conducted several rounds of surveys in Uttar Pradesh. A more aggressive election campaign will be conducted through social platforms and digital platforms for women candidates," the women candidates said.
They also informed that a separate election content will be created for women candidates to campaign using social platforms.
Most of the women candidates are either contesting for the first time or are financially weak, so, the party will also give more financial help to these women candidates to contest the elections.
Uttar Pradesh Mahila Congress has also been advised to work harder to ensure the victory of women candidates.
The prominent women candidates who have been given tickets are the mother of Unnao victim, Poonam Pandey, Alpana Nishad, Ritu Singh, Sadaf Zafar, Pankhuri Pathak, Shamina Shafiq among others.
Another women candidate Pankhuri Pathak is also contesting from the Noida seat, who is fielded against Pankaj Singh, the sitting MLA and son of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
Sadaf Jafar is contesting from Lucknow Central seat against sitting BJP MLA and Law Minister of UP government Brijesh Pathak.
Notably, Congress has not come to power in Uttar Pradesh for more than 30 years as the last Chief Minister of the party was Narayan Dutt Tiwari. During these years, Congress fought elections in an electoral alliance with both the BSP and the SP, however, the party did not get any major success.
A senior Congress leader informed that the party tried hard to contest upcoming polls in an alliance with Samajwadi Party, but it did not get even 40 seats, out of 403 assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh.
Elections for the 403 assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh will be held in seven phases starting February 10, the Election Commission said. The polling in Uttar Pradesh will be held on February 10, 14, 20, 23, 27 and March 3 and 7 in seven phases.The counting of votes will take place on March 10.
( With inputs from ANI )
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