Pratigya Yatra: Priyanka Gandhi unveils Congress' 7 UP election promises
What's the story
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday flagged off the party's 'Pratigya Yatras' from Uttar Pradesh's Barabanki. These Congress rallies will promote the Congress "saat sankalpa" (seven resolutions) ahead of the 2022 UP Assembly elections. The three 'Pratigya Yatra' rallies will cover three different routes over 10 days: Barabanki to Bundelkhand, Saharanpur to Mathura, and Varanasi to Rae Bareli.
Context
Why does it matter?
Gandhi is making all-out efforts to woo Congress' old vote bank, especially banking on women voters. Under her leadership, Congress is holding rallies in Uttar Pradesh to project strength after embarrassing performances in the last several elections. Polls for the 403-member UP Assembly are due in spring 2022. Political parties are now rushing to stage rallies, prepare election and campaign strategies, and forge alliances.
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Where will the 'Pratigya Yatras' be held?
The 10-day 'Pratigya Yatras' seek to promote Gandhi's 'saat sankalpa' strategy. The Varanasi-Rae Bareli rally will cover Chandauli, Sonbhadra, Mirzapur, Prayagraj, Pratapgarh, and Amethi. The Saharanpur-Mathura rally will cover Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Moradabad, Rampur, Bareilly, Badaun, Aligarh, Hathras, and Agra. Meanwhile, the Barabanki-Bundelkhand rally will end in Jhansi via Lucknow, Unnao, Fatehpur, Chitrakoot, Banda, Hamirpur, and Jalaun.
Information
Key party faces to lead rallies
The Varanasi-Rae Bareli rally will be led by former Congress MP Pramod Tiwari. Former Union Minister Pradeep Jain Aditya and MP PL Punia will lead the Barabanki-Bundelkhand rally, while former Union Minister Salman Khurshid and party leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam will head the Saharanpur-Mathura rally.
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What are the 7 resolutions?
Reservation of 40% of election tickets for women. Free smartphones for girls graduating school. Free e-scooters for women graduating college. Poor families to get an annual Rs. 25,000 financial relief. A 50% electricity bill waiver for all. Pending electricity bills from the COVID-19 period to be waived off completely. Twenty lakh more government jobs. The entire debt of farmers will be forgiven.
Political rallies
Several poll rallies lined up
Apart from Congress' Pratigya Yatras, other parties have also planned high-profile rallies ahead of the UP polls. BJP's Jan Ashirvad Yatra will visit 120 Assembly constituencies and will cover 3,500 kilometers in the state. Other rallies include Vijay Yatras by Samajwadi Party and the Samajik Parivartan Yatra by the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party. The BJP, SP, and Bahujan Samaj Party are the key poll contenders.