UP Polls: Congress will 'definitely' defeat BJP candidate in Noida, says Priyanka Gandhi

Congress in charge of Uttar Pradesh elections Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will be beginning a door-to-door campaign from the Noida assembly constituency on Monday.

New Delhi: Ahead of polls, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra campaigned from door to door in Noida Sector-8 on Monday. "My agenda is that there should be development and leaders should be held accountable. The road here is bad, there is water on the roads, there is no electricity and there are no facilities so a leader is responsible for this and he has to be accountable to the people. Our candidates work here day and night, but where is Pankaj Singh?" she said.

Earlier, Priyanka Gandhi interacted with various groups in Noida. She said, "After three decades, we are contesting 403 seats in Uttar Pradesh. Spreading casteism and communalism only benefit political parties, not people."

She tweeted, "The BJP government does not tell that what percentage of youth are unemployed in UP, how much budget has been reduced on education. The BJP government does not want elections to be held on issues. But the public wants the issues to be talked about, the public is ready for change."

Congress has named Pankhuri Pathak as their candidate for Noida. Notably, it is the first physical visit of Gandhi during the poll campaign. However, she had been conducting live interactions on social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube. Gandhi is also expected to campaign in the Dadri Assembly Constituency tomorrow.

Earlier, Chattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel had campaigned in western Uttar Pradesh.

According to sources, an aggressive campaign strategy has been made by Congress for the first phase of polls in UP. The party's star campaigners Sachin Pilot, Bhupesh Baghel are among others who are on the ground to campaign for the elections. For Gandhi, door-to-door campaigns and virtual rallies have been scheduled as a part of the election campaign.

Presently, big rallies are banned and only door-to-door and virtual rallies are allowed. The last date of campaigning for the first phase of UP polls is February 8; voting is to begin from February 10.

In Uttar Pradesh, the first phase polling will be held on February 10, the second phase on February 14, the third phase on February 20, the fourth phase on February 23, the fifth phase on February 27, the sixth phase on March 3 and the seventh phase on March 7. The counting of votes will take place on March 10.