Won’t contest Lok Sabha poll: Priyanka Gandhi tells partymen

Lucknow: Priyanka Gandhi has told party workers that she would not be contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and would instead focus on the organisation of Congress and win the 2022 polls in Uttar Pradesh. She told journalists after marathon meetings that action against her husband Robert Vadra "are things that will go on, but I will continue to do my work".

BJP in UP hasn’t issued any official statement on Priyanka so far with party leaders saying they do not wish to "play her up", but said they would counter her on the issue of Vadra and her past performance in the 2012 polls, whenever the need arises.

Priyanka's statement, meanwhile, suggests that Sonia Gandhi could be contesting from Rae Bareli again, ending speculation that Priyanka may contest from her mother's seat.


Party workers from seats such as Lucknow and Phulpur, who had met Priyanka on Tuesday night, had implored her to consider contesting from these seats. Congress has no strong candidate from Lucknow after Rita Bahaguna Joshi shifted camp to the BJP, while Phulpur was a traditional Congress seat contested by Jawaharlal Nehru.

Priyanka, however, politely declined these requests. After the meeting, party workers said that despite many requests to her to contest from these seats, she said that she wouldn’t do so.

Priyanka has started a WhatsApp group -- Chaupal -- asking workers to join in and send her team inputs from the ground, adding she would come to hold 'Chaupals' (small meetings) in districts.