Congress on Friday opened its door for a post-poll Opposition coalition if such a scenario arises in Uttar Pradesh but with a condition that its agenda on youth and women should be fulfilled even as Priyanka Gandhi virtually projected herself as the party's face for the Assembly elections.
The party position was articulated by General Secretary and UP in-charge Priyanka after she released the Youth Manifesto for the state polls along with top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The manifesto spoke about providing 20 lakh jobs with eight lakh reserved for women, streamlining the recruitment system and filling vacancies among others.
To a question on who will be the CM face of Congress in Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka shot back a question, "do you see any other face in UP from the Congress's side? Then?" Asked again, she said, “you are seeing my face everywhere, isn't it?"
Both Rahul and Priyanka targeted the BJP regime for the problems of the youth at the press conference and said only Congress could provide a vision to people in the state as well as the country.
"The vision given by Narendra Modi in 2014 has failed. The vision proposed by the BJP has completely failed, it is a disaster. It is turning our demographic dividend into a demographic disaster. BJP's vision is not the country's vision...We don't spread hatred. We are for uniting people," Rahul said, adding demonetisation, faulty GST and actions during the Covid-19 has led to 16 lakh job loss in Uttar Pradesh alone.
"Even people in BJP will agree something has gone very wrong. If you're proposing a new vision you have to start from afresh. Every state is important but UP weighs down on all," he said.
Priyanka was asked whether Congress would consider supporting other Opposition parties to fulfil its agenda if such a situation arose.
"The question is whether we will be part of a government post-poll or whether we will support. My answer to this question is that if such circumstances arise, and in the event that they do, we are open to considering that. I would say that if such a situation arises, then we would certainly want our agenda for youth and women to be fulfilled, if we were part of any such dispensation," she said.
Congress is going alone in the UP polls and its focus is on women and youth. It has already announced that it would give 40% seats to women while launching a campaign 'Ladki Hoon, Lad Sakti Hoon' (I am girl, I can fight).
Targeting the Yogi Adityanath-led UP government, he said UP and India needed a new vision and only Congress can give it.
Asked about why more women candidates are not being given candidature in other states like in UP, Rahul said the Congress does not impose its diktat from the top. "We do not impose from the top. That is not Congress style," he said.
He said the thought behind the 'Youth Manifesto' was that Congress has a strategy for the youth. "It is not hollow words...We want to use the energy of youth to make a better Uttar Pradesh," he said.
Priyanka said the biggest problem in UP is irregularities in job recruitment and the youth are disappointed.
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