As the Congress deployed senior leaders for management of affairs after the results of the five Assembly elections are out on March 10, party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday said the party fought hard in Uttar Pradesh.
She made the remarks ahead of leading a march in Lucknow on International’s Women’s Day under the banner of Ladki hoon lad sakti hoon (I am a girl and can fight) campaign.
While reiterating the party’s U.P. strategy of fielding women candidates in 40 per cent seats, the event also signalled Ms. Vadra’s intent of being in U.P. for long haul to revive her party in the Hindi heartland.
“We fought as hard as we could. We will wait and see the results,”she was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Celebrating women candidates
“Today’s march at Lucknow is to celebrate our 159 women candidates. I think it’s a big thing that all of them fought, and on International Women’s Day, we should celebrate them,”she stated.
For over three decades, the Congress has been a marginal player and exit polls have indicated that the party may fail to reach double digits. But with exit polls predicting a tight finish in States like Uttarakhand and Goa, the Congress also deputed senior leaders for post poll management in these States as well as Punjab and Manipur.
The move, aimed at keeping the Congress flock together in case of a hung Assembly, comes a day after Ms. Vadra visited Jaipur to meet Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
Special observers
Amid talk of shifting the newly-elected legislators to the Congress-ruled Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the appointment of special observers is also part of a strategy to work out government formations in States where no party gets a clear majority.
In Uttarakhand, where the Congress is hopeful of replacing the BJP government, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel will be deployed once the results are out while Rajya Sabha member Deepdender Hooda has already reached Dehradun as an AICC observer.
For Goa, apart from former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and AICC’s Goa in charge Dinesh Gundu Rao, Karnataka Congress chief D.K. Sivakumar will be a special observer. The party is not taking any chances in Goa this time as it couldn’t form government in the State in 2017 despite emerging as the single largest party.
While general secretary Mukul Wasnik and Chhattisgarh Health Minister T.S. Singh Deo, along with Lok Sabha member Vincent Pala, have been deputed for Manipur, senior leader and general secretary Ajay Maken and party spokesperson Pawan Khera have been deployed as party special observers for Punjab.
