The Congress had not reached out to the SP or the BSP on the possible candidature of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Varanasi, even as a section of the party in Uttar Pradesh had publicly said that she will fight against Modi.

A day after the Congress announced that Ajai Rai will be its candidate in Varanasi, the SP said that the alliance got no indication that a third person from the first family of the Congress was going to contest.

SP MLC and spokesperson Udaiveer Singh told BusinessLine that the Congress should not have worried about the stand of other parties towards its candidate.

“The SP and BSP have a strong presence in Amethi and Rae Barelli. Yet we decided to support the Congress candidates there. The Congress had not approached us for help, but we decided to do so, keeping in mind the stature of the two candidates,” Singh said.

Singh advised the Congress to announce its candidates without considering the views of other parties in the fray. “We have nothing to do with their candidature. Our candidate Shalini Yadav is giving a tough fight to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the seat. If the Congress takes any formal decision and approaches our leaders, they will take an appropriate decision,” he added.

There were reports that the Congress decided not to field Priyanka Gandhi after failing to ensure the support of SP and BSP to her in Varanasi.

The alliance has been attacking the Congress for trying to split the “secular” votes than defeating the BJP.

The Congress said Priyanka Gandhi’s role at present is to strengthen the party in Uttar Pradesh.

“Right now, she is working hard to strengthen the party in UP. She is touring every day, doing the campaign, doing the road shows, addressing public meetings, meeting workers and meeting people. Right now, she is focused on UP and after that what happens, we should wait for that,” Congress spokesperson Rajeev Shukla said.

Related Topics