UP Assembly 2022 polls: Congress to release first list of candidates soon, Priyanka reviews poll-preparedness

Lucknow: Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday attended the meeting of the party’s state election committee in Lucknow and it was decided that the first list of candidates for the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls will be released soon, a party leader said.

On the fourth day of her state visit, Priyanka Gandhi met representatives of various communities, including Banjara, Rajbhar, and Nishad, and took note of the problems and issues being faced by them.

Ahead of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections, the Congress general secretary is on a five-day visit to Lucknow to review and discuss the party’s preparedness for the polls.

Since her arrival, she has been holding a series of meetings at the party office and Kaul House - her residence-cum-office in the state capital.

During one of the meetings, she discussed the setting up of “war rooms” at district levels to receive feedback and take prompt decisions as part of the election strategy.

The party’s proposed pratigya yatra was finalised after its route was discussed and the booth management strategy for the polls was chalked out as well, a leader said.

This is Priyanka Gandhi’s second visit to the state within a month. She had earlier arrived on 13 September and stayed for five days.

The Congress party had fought the 2017 UP polls in alliance with the Samajwadi Party. The grand old party had managed to win just seven of the 114 contested seats with a vote share of 6.25 percent.

This time, the Congress has announced that it would fight the polls without aligning with any big political party.