Lucknow: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will be the "face of the party" in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, UP Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu said on Sunday.
He also made it clear that the Congress will not enter into a tie-up with any political party, but will forge an alliance with the "public, democracy, youth, farmers, poor, Dalits, oppressed and deprived people".
"UP is her land. She (Priyanka Gandhi) hails from this place. She and her family have an affection for the soil of UP, and for the crores of people of UP. She resides in the heart of crores of people of the state. And undoubtedly under her leadership, the party will contest the UP Assembly elections," he said in an interview.
Priyanka Gandhi will be the face of our party. The party will become the voice of the people and they will shower their blessings on us, he said.
The UP Congress chief asserted that the public sentiment of UP is that "we should form the government under her 'dekh-rekh' (monitoring)".
To a question on forging any pre-poll or post-poll alliance during polls, Lallu said, "Congress will not enter into an alliance with any political party in UP. We will forge an alliance with the public, democracy, youth, farmers, poor, Dalits, oppressed and deprived people."
On some BJP leaders dubbing Priyanka Gandhi as a Twitter leader, Lallu said, "This (UP) government is afraid of Priyanka Gandhi. She took to the streets, and fought for tribals of Sonbhadra despite being detained by the state government. The way she is cornering the government on almost every issue, it seems it is feeling afraid (sarkaardarri hui hai) and entangled (phansi hui hai). Hence, it is speaking in this manner." When asked as to whether the Congress is lagging behind as far as preparations for the 2022 UP polls are concerned, the UP Congress chief said, "The Congress is continuously raising issues, which directly and indirectly impact the public of the state. We are consistently strengthening our voice. The Congress is becoming the voice of the people on various issues, even as the state government is engaging itself in anti-people activities."
He also claimed that since 1989, the time from which the Congress has been out of power in UP, the development of the state has significantly declined.
Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday demanded a transparent probe into the death of young PCS officer Mani Manjari Rai, who allegedly committed suicide a few days
ago.