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Updated March 5th, 2021 at 16:32 IST

Priyanka Gandhi to contest Kanyakumari bypolls? Karti Chidambaram applies for her to Cong

Taking a step further in Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's electoral debut, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram on Friday, submitted an application to the party's election body

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
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Taking a step further in Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's electoral debut, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram on Friday, submitted an application to the party's election committee to consider Vadra as its candidate for the by-polls to Kanyakumari Lok Sabha constituency. The seat has fallen vacant after MP H Vasanthakumar - founder and chairman of Vasanth & Co, passed away in August 2020 due to COVID-19. The Sivaganga MP had suggested Vadra's name as a bid to 'boost Congress morale in Tamil Nadu polls'.

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Karti Chidambaram's suggestion

In November, Chidambaram had tweeted, "We need a bold move, something which will fire up the imagination of the Congress workers. Priyanka Gandhi must contest the Kanyakumari parliamentary seat election which is likely to be announced shortly. It will be an overwhelming victory for her/party/alliance.” Currently, her brother- Rahul Gandhi has extensively campaigned in Tamil Nadu, visiting the state thrice in the past 3 months - holding meetings with students, weavers, fishermen, farmers, MSME workers etc. DMK and Congress' seat-sharing talk have hit an impasse after the Stalin-led party offered only 25 seats to Congress.

On the other hand, Priyanka Gandhi has remained focused on Uttar Pradesh, recently shifted her base from Delhi to Lucknow. Recently, she participated in the 'Mauni Amavasya' celebrations in Prayagraj, taking a dip in the holy Ganges in Prayagraj (Allahabad), met with Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand and returned via boat - rowing it herself. Previously, displaying 'soft Hindutva', during the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple Bhoomi Pujan, Gandhi had called the event 'a basis of fraternity and cultural congregation'. Priyanka Gandhi's 'soft Hindutva' push by visiting several temples in UP has been termed as 'copying' by the BJP. She has also addressed several Kisan mahapanchayat in UP, made regular visits to homes of  victims of rape, mob-lynching and others. 

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UP poll campaign

As of date, several fronts have cropped up to challenge the ruling BJP. While Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj is eyeing an alliance with AIMIM, Azad Samaj Party, Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party, AAP, Shiv Sena, and JDU have announced that they will be contesting for the UP polls. Samajwadi Party and BSP have decided to not ally and shut their doors to Congres, opting to ally with smaller parties if needed or go solo. Since then, Congress has aggressively campaigned under the leadership of Priyanka Gandhi in the state, eyeing its solo return. In 2017, amid tumultuous family fights in the Yadav family - with Akhilesh throwing out uncle Shivpal and replacing Mulayam Singh Yadav as the party chief, the then-UP CM stitched an alliance with Congress - with Akhilesh and Rahul Gandhi holding joint rallies. This poll-alliance failed miserably, winning only 55 seats, while the BJP won 312 seats - ushering in Yogi Adityanath's maiden term.

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Published March 5th, 2021 at 16:21 IST

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