Congress party workers enthused, rivals amused on Priyanka as Congress' Uttar Pradesh CM face

Political analysts said that Priyanka had been able to boost the morale of her party workers to some extent but they remained sceptical about the grand old party's revival

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's indication on Friday that she was the party's chief ministerial candidate in Uttar Pradesh enthused the party workers but her rivals rejected assertions that she would be able to revive the electoral fortunes of the grand old party in the forthcoming assembly polls in the state.

UP Congress leaders said that they had been urging the party leadership for several months to declare Priyanka as its CM face in UP. "The declaration, though not official, has come at the right moment," said a senior Congress leader.

The leader said that Priyanka, who was also the in-charge of the state unit of the party, had been able to "galvanise" the party workers in the state and give them a ''new hope''.

UP Congress president Ajai Kumar Lallu also echoed a similar sentiment and said that Priyanka was a "fit" candidate for the post of the CM. "She has all the qualities to become the chief minister of the state," he said.

Also Read — You can see my face everywhere, says Priyanka Gandhi on Cong's UP CM face

Senior Congress leader and party MLA Aradhana Mishra also said that Priyanka had been taking up the issues concerning the common people and under her leadership, the party had launched several agitational programmes in the state against the misrule of the BJP government.

The rival BJP, Samajwadi Party (SP) and the BSP, however, said that Priyanka would not be able to revive the party in the state. "Congress is a fringe player in the state... it has no presence...it even struggles to find candidates,'' a senior BJP leader said.

UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya had earlier termed Priyanka a "Twitter Politician" while many of his party colleagues had called her a "political tourist", who would 'disappear' once the elections were over.

SP president Akhilesh Yadav had also remarked recently that Congress would not be able to open its account in the forthcoming assembly elections.

Political analysts here opined that Priyanka had been able to boost the morale of her party workers to some extent but they remained sceptical about the grand old party's revival in the state. "Congress does not have any organisation in the state...it also lacks good leaders....the caste equation in the state also does not favour the party," said J P Shukla, a Lucknow-based political analyst.

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