New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadras scheduled rallies in the Western region of Uttar Pradesh have been postponed following bad weather conditions. The Congress leaders were expected to address rallies in Saharanpur, Shamli and Bijnor districts, where the polling is scheduled to be held in the first phase i.e. April 11.Also Read - New Maharashtra Govt on Cards? Eknath Shinde Met Devendra Fadnavis Last Night in Gujarat: Report
“For now the program (Rahul Gandhi-Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s rallies) has been cancelled at all three places (Shamli, Bijnor, Saharanpur), due to bad weather. We are planning Priyanka ji’s road show tomorrow,”said Imran Masood, Congress’ candidate from Saharanpur. Also Read - No One Should Use Balasaheb's Name: Uddhav Thackeray Reacts After Rebel Sena MLAs Decide To Call Themselves As 'Shiv Sena Balasaheb'
Further, the party is also expected to hold around 18 major rallies in the state that would be jointly addressed by Rahul and Priyanka, ANI reported. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh is also likely to address a couple of poll rallies in Pilibhit and Kanpur that have sizeable Sikh voters. Also Read - Floor Test Will Decide Who Has The Majority, Says Sharad Pawar As Maharashtra Crisis Snowballs
Saharanpur, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Buddha Nagar constituencies will go to polls in the first phase on April 11. Uttar Pradesh is witnessing a triangular contest this time. The BJP-led NDA which had won 73 out of the state’s 80 seats in 2014 is facing a tough challenge from the Congress and the SP-BSP-RLD alliance in the state. The SP had won five seats in the 2014 elections, the Congress two and the BSP and the RLD nil.
There are 80 Lok Sabha seats at stake in Uttar Pradesh, polling for which will be held in all seven phases.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its manifesto for upcoming polls today at party headquarters in the national capital. The ‘Sankalp Patra’ was launched in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party president Amit Shah, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj.