The Congress had released the first list of 125 names on January 13 and the second list of 41 names on January 20 for UP polls and out of 166 names 119 candidates are new faces for the elections, candidates like Bhawana Valmiki, a social activist from Hapur; Yasmin Rana from Charthawal; Salma Agha Ansari from Thakurdwara; Kalpana Singh from Bilari; Nafees Saifi from Meerut South; Sukhvinder Kaur from Saharanpur will be contesting first time in the elections.
Earlier, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra released the party's first list of 125 candidates for the state. The leader said that this year's elections brought a new kind of politics to the party and is historic, "Out of the total 125 candidates, 40% are women & 40% are the youth. With this historic initiative, we hope to bring in a new kind of politics in the sate," she said.
"In the first list of 125 candidates for UP polls, 50 candidates are women, including Asha Singh, mother of the Unnao rape victim. From Shahjahanpur, we have fielded Asha worker Poonam Pandey who led an agitation for a raise in honorarium" she further added.
Meanwhile, The Election Commission of India announced the voting dates for the Assembly polls of Uttar Pradesh. The UP will hold elections in 7 phases to elect 403 members of the Legislative Assembly in the state. The seven-phase election in Uttar Pradesh will be held on February 10, 14, 20, 23, 27, and March 3 and 7.