Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Credit: PTI
New Delhi: With elections in Uttar Pradesh just a year away, Congress has signalled that its senior leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is likely to play an active role with its state unit all set to announce a 100-day organisational programme and celebrate her birthday on a large-scale on Monday.
Congress General Secretary and UP in-charge Avinash Pande has already issued directions to announce the 100-day programmes, which includes Constitution Samvad Rallies at 30 places and MGNREGA protests, at press conferences which will be followed by birthday celebrations.
This is the first time that the UP unit will be celebrating Priyanka’s birthday on a grand-scale, with party sources indicating that the Wayanad MP, who has not taken any specific assignment in the organisation in the past three years, will be active in the state in the run up to the Assembly elections.
Her appointment as chairperson of the Screening Committee for Assam elections and the UP unit celebrating her birthday, which is sort of re-introduction of Priyanka into daily politics of UP, are seen in party circles as her return into active organisational responsibilities.
Priyanka took charge as General Secretary in-charge of UP when she entered politics in January 2019 but had relinquished the post after Congress’ poor show in the 2022 Assembly elections. Congress had won just two seats in 2022 while in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls it had won six seats.
The 100-day programme also comes against the backdrop of the Congress’ decision to fight the MLC election as well as panchayat polls, amid Samajwadi Party appearing to be having a rethink about tying up with the Congress for 2027 Assembly elections after the latter’s poor show in Bihar.
The UP Congress' OBC Department is also announcing a 'Parivartan Pratigya' campaign on Monday and it will culminate in January next year.
While the state unit has left it to the central leadership to decide on alliance, Pande had sent a signal to the SP by saying BSP could be inducted into I.N.D.I.A. bloc if Mayawati agrees. SP had been opposed to the entry of BSP into the bloc and during the Lok Sabha elections, it had made it clear that the Mayawati-led party has no place in the opposition coalition.
UP Congress president Ajay Rai has already issued a circular to 20 district and city committees, including those in Ayodhya, Varanasi, Lucknow, Gorakhpur and Meerut, to hold press conferences on Priyanka’s birthday to announce the 100-day programme.
Following the press conferences, Rai said special programmes should be held to celebrate Priyanka’s birthday.
UP Congress Media Department Vice Chairman Manish Hindvi said during the 100 day programmes, the work related to helping voters whose names were deleted in the draft rolls following Special Intensive Revision will also be taken up. The ‘MGNREGA Bachao Sangram’ will also be part of it, he said.
A year-long programme as part of the 140th anniversary of Congress will also be chalked out on the theme ‘Sewa aur Balidan’ (Service and Sacrifice), he said.
The organisational revamp is in the last leg in UP and in the next 100 days, he said adding they would be finding Booth Level Agents in all 1.78 lakh polling booths, which includes around 15,000 new booths. At present, Congress has identified over 94,000 BLAs in the state.