Less than a month remaining for the national elections, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will formally launch the Congress's poll campaign from Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj on Monday. Formerly known as Allahabad, Prayagraj is the birthplace of Priyanka Gandhi's great grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru. The Congress intends to take the battle straight to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and so, the campaign will also cover the PM's constituency, Varanasi.
As part of the campaign - spread over three days - Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will take the river route from Prayagraj to Varanasi and has sought the Election Commission's permission. Priyanka Gandhi, 47, will cover a distance of about 100 kilometers on a motorboat, with two stops in between. The party will try and reach out to people in areas not easily accessible by road, senior Congress leaders said.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was earlier scheduled to launch the Congress's campaign today, but the plan was postponed.
In Prayagraj, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is also likely to visit the historic Anand Bhawan, the erstwhile ancestral home of the Nehru family, now a museum housing the personal belongings of Jawaharlal Nehru and his father Motilal Nehru.
In PM Modi's constituency Varanasi, Priyanka Gandhi may also offer prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath temple, PTI quoted sources as saying.
On Wednesday, sources had said Priyanka Gandhi would not contest the Lok Sabha elections and will instead focus on the Congress' campaign and her role as the party's General Secretary in charge of UP (East).
Priyanka Gandhi's name was not included in the first list of candidates that Congress announced last week. There was speculation that she could contest from Raebareli, her mother's constituency. Her brother, Congress President Rahul Gandhi will contest from Amethi while her mother Sonia Gandhi will contest from Raebareli.
Priyanka Gandhi formally made her entry into politics in January. She was appointed Congress's general secretary in charge of the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh. She had earlier confined herself to campaigning in Amethi and Raebareli - the constituencies of her brother and mother Sonia Gandhi.
The national elections will be held in 7 phases starting April 11 and go on till May 19. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.
(With inputs from PTI)
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