Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday appealed people to use the power of a vote for the better future of the state.
"My dear sisters and brothers of western Uttar Pradesh, use the power of votes for your issues and for building a better future of the state," Vadra tweeted in Hindi.
She also tweeted a 'shloka' from the Bhagavad Gita, which means that a person should do Karma and should not focus on results i.e. a person only has a right to do karma and not to the fruits of your karma. Do not become a person who constantly meditates upon (gets attached to) the results of one's karma. Do not get attached to inactivity (no karma).
In a bid to boost the morale of party workers, the general secretary said, "UP Congress workers should feel proud that the party is contesting all the 403 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh polls after nearly three decades without being in alliance with any political party."
"Best wishes to all my colleagues, workers and candidates of UP Congress - You should be proud that after 30 years we are fighting alone with our strength on all the seats," the tweet added.
Voting for the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh elections on 58 assembly seats covering 11 districts of the state began on Thursday at 7 am.
The voting will conclude at 6 pm today.
The first phase will cover the 'Jat-dominant belt' of the western part of the state.
The districts that are going to the polling today include Mathura, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahar, Hapur, Shamli, Baghpat, Aligarh, Agra and Gautam Buddha Nagar.
As many as 623 candidates are in the fray in the first phase of the assembly polls while nearly 2.27 crore voters will decide the fate of these candidates.
Nearly 50,000 paramilitary personnel from 412 companies of central paramilitary forces have been deployed at different locations to maintain law and order as the election campaign for the first phase of assembly polls in western Uttar Pradesh ended on Tuesday evening.
The police have sealed the borders of the State and strict vigilance is underway to maintain peace in 58 assembly constituencies which will go to the polls today.
The 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly is scheduled to go to the polls in seven phases on February 10, 14, 20, 23, 27, March 3, and 7. The counting of votes will take place on March 10.
( With inputs from ANI )
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