Vote for change, Priyanka Gandhi urges UP voters

Lucknow : In a move to boost the Congress campaign led by her brother Rahul Gandhi in Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Friday addressed public meetings in his parliamentary constituency Amethi and asked the people “to vote for change” in the state, ruled by non-Congress parties since 1989.

“People are not getting their due rights … Politics has turned opportunistic,” she said at a meeting in Balbhadrapur.

Noting that the state’s politics has been based on religion and caste for the past 20 years, she called upon people to vote for a change of regime in the state.

“If a Congress government is formed in UP, it would develop the state. You should do it for the future of your children and not for the Congress,” Priyanka said.

Echoing her brother, Priyanka said that people from Uttar Pradesh have been going to developed states like Maharashtra and Kerala.

“It is time for a change,” she asserted.

She said politics has touched such a low that the parties had to remind people that their candidates are not named in cases of murder or land grabbing.

“I urge you to probe the facts about the candidates and the political parties. Keep this in mind when you go out to vote,” she said.

Speaking to reporters later, Priyanka said the people of the state were fed up with the Mayawati government.

“People are fed up with the present government… People are realising that the present politics are not working. They want to bring about a change. I believe they will,” she said.

Congress circles said that Priyanka will continue her campaign in Amethi parliamentary constituency, represented by Rahul Gandhi and in Rae Bareli, represented by her mother and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, for the next four days.

Though Priyanka had said recently she would undertake any campaign suggested by Rahul, party circles said there was no indication of her campaign plans beyond Amethi-Rae Bareli belt so far.

This is the second round of campaigning by Priyanka in the Amethi-Rae Bareli belt, which has 11 assembly seats. She had campaigned Jan 16-19 in the first tour.

Three seats of the Amethi parliamentary constituency – Amethi, Jagdishpur and Gauriganj – will go to polls Feb 15 while polling will be held in the two other seats and in the six seats belonging to Rae Bareli Feb 19.

Uttar Pradesh, which has 403 assembly seats, will have a seven-phase polling Feb 8 to March 3.

The vote count will be held March 6, along with the four other states (Uttarakhand, Goa, Manipur and Punjab).