UP polls 2017: Priyanka Gandhi, Sheila Dikshit likely to lead Congress campaign

Speculations of Priyanka Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi’s daughter, and former chief minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit joining the political battle lines in Uttar Pradesh are getting stronger with each passing day. According to NDTV, sources in Congress have said that Sheila Dikshit has finally given in, and will most likely be declared the Chief Ministerial candidate for UP Assembly elections in the coming week. Sheila Dikshit, however, refused to comment on the issue, and asked the media to wait for the official announcement.

Announcement hoga to aapko pata chal jaega, abhi nhi bataungi. Abhi charcha chal rhi hai: Sheila Dikshit on UP polls pic.twitter.com/7cSknHggVM

— ANI (@ANI) July 5, 2016

The report further says that Priyanka Gandhi will play a huge role in the elections. She had campaigned in the last election in her family’s constituencies of Rae Bareli and Amethi. This time, she is expected to lead rallies across the state. A report in The Hindu stated that Congress spokesperson in UP Satya Dev Tripathi said that Priyanka will venture out of Rae Bareli and Amethi, where she has campaigned for Congress in the past, and hold 150 rallies across UP. Earlier reports had suggested that master strategist Prashant Kishor, who has been roped in by the Congress for the UP elections, had pushed for Priyanka to take lead in the 2017 state election, as reported by Zee News. Congress has had a dismal performance in Uttar Pradesh so far. In the last assembly polls, Congress had won just 28 of the 403 seats in the state. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the party had secured only two seats in UP with only Sonia and Rahul emerging victorious. With  BJP pointing out that, “Congress is today like a sinking ship without a captain,” _Firstpost's_ Sandipan Sharma wrote , “For the Congress, Priyanka Gandhi is indeed an idea whose time has come. Whatever be the outcome of the expected ploy, it will immediately inject new life in the Congress veins. Its workers will get a sense of direction, the party a new face and voters the option of looking at a Rahul-mukt Congress. Comparisons with leaders of other parties can wait, but in a tossup between the Gandhi siblings, Priyanka is the clear winner_.”_