Have an open mind on forging alliance for Uttar Pradesh polls: Priyanka Gandhi

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday said her party is "open-minded" about forging an alliance with other political parties for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

Asked whether the Congress will go it alone on all the 403 assembly seats in the state or align with some political party, Priyanka Gandhi told reporters in an informal meeting here, "It is too early to say." On whether she is ruling out an alliance, she said, "I do not rule it out. We are absolutely not closed-minded. We are keeping an open mind." "Our aim is to defeat the BJP," she said, adding that other political parties should also be "open-minded".

Priyanka Gandhi said the organisation is also her area of focus and a lot of work has been done on it in a silent manner.

"I have an open mind, but my priority is my party," she said.

To a question on the Congress becoming active in her presence and tending to become inactive as soon as she leaves the state, the party general secretary said, "When I come (here), there is media focus and you pay attention. But when I am not here, you do not pay any attention. But our work is going on." "We have done the maximum work during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can see that we are the ones who have raised issues. Congress is no longer confined to garlanding photographs. Our party has been out of power for 30-32 years, and it has become weak. However, full efforts have been made, and a lot of energy has come (into the party)," she added.

Asked to comment on what ails the Congress, Priyanka Gandhi said, "Congress is an old party and in old institutions, there are certain ideas and ways that become fixed. At the same time, in the elders, there is a lot of wisdom and experience, yet you have to bring in the new. So the challenge for the Congress is that you have to bring the good from the old, keep it, and be able to reach out to the public." When asked if she will camp in Lucknow more often, she said, "Well, I will be going to Delhi today. I will be absent for 15-20 days and after that, I will come. The thing is that I get caught up with a lot of work in Delhi and I am required for other things. But I intend to spend much more time here." To a query on whether she will be the Congress' CM candidate for the 2022 UP Assembly elections, Priyanka Gandhi said, "It's too early to say." The Congress leader, who was on a three-day visit to Lucknow, also said that plans are afoot to revamp the Congress Seva Dal in UP.

She also slammed the BJP over its statement that she was a "political tourist". She said the BJP's propaganda is to show her and her brother Rahul Gandhi as non-serious politicians.

Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh are due early next year.