Sonia Gandhi virtually took the electoral battle for Uttar Pradesh into Modi's bastion with a smashing roadshow. But she took ill after about six hours on the road and had to cut her visit short.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi virtually took the electoral battle for Uttar Pradesh into enemy territory as she held a massive road show in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency Varanasi on Tuesday.
Thousands of Congressmen marched along side as Sonia rode in an open vehicle waving out to the crowds. The ancient and holy city, which is the centre of the crucial east Uttar Pradesh region, came to a standstill as wave after wave of party workers swirled their way through its narrow streets.
Sonia, however, took ill after about six hours on the road and had to cut her visit short. The public meeting planned at the end of the show was cancelled. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was quick to send out a tweet wishing the Congress president good health.
The huge turnout at Sonia's roadshow surprised Congress leaders themselves. "Sonia ji has conquered Varanasi today. It will be the entire UP very soon," said UP Congress chief Raj Babbar. "This is mind boggling," said former UP Congress chief Rita Joshi.
Sonia storming the PM's bastion with great elan just three days after Rahul Gandhi held a hugely successful party workers' meet in Lucknow is seen as part of the script for the party's "Mission UP" being written out by election strategist Prashant Kishor aka 'PK'.
The procession took a six-kilometre long circuitous route, ingeniously planned through areas inhabited by weavers (read: Muslims). Sonia got a rousing reception in these areas, a significant pointer not missed by political watchers.
At the Muslim-dominated Peeli Kothi area, they turned out in large numbers playing 'dhol-nagada' (drums) and shouting slogans of "Sonia Gandhi zindabad" prompting a visibly excited senior Congress leader Pramod Tiwari to declare on a TV channel that it looked as if the Congress was already back in power in UP. "This looks more like a victory march than a road show," he gushed.
The roadshow started from the Dr BR Ambedkar Park and ended at Pt Kamlapati Tripathi Park in an obvious bid to charm both, the Dalits and the upper castes. Sonia clearly chose Varanasi to sound the poll bugle as it is the epicenter of east UP which accounts for the largest chunk of assembly seats: 150 out of 403.
Old timers say Sonia's show surpassed the massive support the late Indira Gandhi had got when she came to Varanasi during the campaign for the decisive 1980 election in which the Congress Party made a smashing comeback. "It's there for everyone to see. The Congress Party is coming back to power once again in UP after 27 years," said veteran party leader Satyadeo Tripathi.
Babbar hopes for 'miracle' in favour of Cong in UP polls
Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar on Wednesday expressed hope that there will be a "miracle" in favour of his party in the upcoming assembly election in the state. "The people of Uttar Pradesh have always been springing surprises - be it 2004, 2007, 2012 or 2017 - this time they are going to do a miracle in favour of Congress," he said. Babbar is here to take part in Congress president Sonia Gandhi's road show in Varansi, the Lok Sabha constituency Prime Minister Narendra Modi represents.
This is the third major programme of the party in the past few days after "27 saal-UP behal" Delhi-Kanpur bus yatra and Rahul Gandhi's interactive session with booth level workers in Lucknow.
Earlier, Sonia arrived here to a rousing reception by party workers for a six-km-long road show.
Her cavalcade was accompanied by 5,000 strong contingent of motorcyclists from Lal Bahadur Shastri Babatpur airport to the circuit house. Huge banners and buntings have been put up by party to make the roadshow successful and launch the poll campaign in the eastern region of the poll-bound state.
BJP did not fare very well in the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh in the last assembly election and Congress hopes to take advantage make inroads.
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