Congress General
Secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Thursday said she has been given the key task of
strengthening her party in the Uttar Pradesh - even beyond the Lok Sabha
elections - and ensure it comes back to power in the 2022 Assembly
polls.Hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party, Gandhi, who is the Congress's
eastern Uttar Pradesh in charge, also said that her party which fought for
freedom does not need a "certificate of patriotism" from those who
sought to apologise to the then British rulers.Addressing block presidents,
booth workers and the members of gram panchayat and zila panchayat of the party
in Rae Bareli, the constituency of her mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi,
she said: "I have been given the task to strengthen the party in the
state. And I will ensure that the party comes to power in the state in
2022."And once the government is formed in Uttar Pradesh, I can ensure
that we are not going to be defeated for next 10-15 years on the basis of the
development works."Priyanka Gandhi had made the same point at her
programme near Gauriganj in Amethi - the constituency of her brother and
Congress President Rahul Gandhi - on Wednesday night."Are you preparing
for the elections? I am not talking about 2019, but 2022," she asked the
workers, indicating the reason for her appointment in the party's long-term
strategy in the state.Naming her party General Secretary on January 23, Rahul
Gandhi had said: "She hasn't been sent here for four months, she has been
sent here with a larger plan... We will not only defeat the BJP in 2019 (Lok
Sabha polls) but also win the 2022 (Assembly) elections."He reiterated the
point in several speeches following that in Amethi.Priyanka Gandhi's message
seems to have struck a chord with party workers.
Ram Deo Verma, a
party workers from Unchahar in Rae Bareli, who was present at the meeting, told
IANS: "Bitiya kahin hai ki ham yahi se 2022 ki ladai ko aage le jayenge
(Daughter has said that she will begin the fight of the 2022 assembly elections
from Rae Bareli)."Another party worker, Ramnath Pal said that she has
asked the party workers to strengthen the party and ensure victory in 2019 and
as well as in 2022.The Congress has been out of power in the state since 1989.
It faced major embarrassment in 2017 assembly polls, as the party could manage
to win only one out of 10 assembly seats on home turf in Rae Bareli and
Amethi.Slamming the BJP on the issue of nationalism, Priyanka Gandhi said that
her party has made a lot of sacrifices for the country during the freedom
movement."And we do not need certificate of nationalism from anyone who
never participated in the freedom struggle and who wrote letter to the
Britishers seeking apology," she said.Priyanka Gandhi, who is on a
three-day poll visit to Uttar Pradesh, arrived in Rae Bareli on late Wednesday
night. Earlier on Wednesday, she had held a marathon meeting with party workers
at Musafirkhana in Amethi and met party workers at Gauriganj, the district
headquarters.Thousands of party workers and supporters arrived at the guest
house since morning on the outskirts of Rae Bareli, where the Congress leader
was supposed to meet them in groups.On the final day of her visit, Priyanka
Gandhi will visit Ayodhya and also take out a road show in the temple
town.Priyanka Gandhi, the younger sibling of Rahul Gandhi, is being seen as the
second-most influential party leader in the state and the party leaders and
workers are considering her as the "turnaround" leader in the
politically-crucial state, which sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha.This is her
second visit to the state in almost one week. Fom March 18 to 20, she had taken
a river ride on Ganga from Prayagraj to Varanasi, the parliamentary
constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.During her visit then, she had
accused the BJP government of destroying the institutions of the country and
slammed it over 'Mai bhi chowkidaar' (I am also a watchman) campaign by saying
that the watchman are only for rich and not for poor.