Priyanka Gandhi on Sunday told Congress candidates that she was confident that the Narendra Modi government would be unseated in the general election.
“People are angry with Modi because he has reneged on his promises and is trying to deflect questions. This anger will show in the poll results,” she was quoted as saying in the state Congress headquarters.
Priyanka will kick off her campaign in Allahabad on Monday from a motorboat on the Ganga and conclude it in Modi’s constituency of Varanasi on Wednesday after a 100km downstream ride, punctuated by halts at riverside villages.
“People are not talking about the government’s failures because they are feeling insecure under this administration,” the newly appointed Congress general secretary for eastern Uttar Pradesh told her party.
“But they will react at the polling booths and this may help you win if you connect well with the people of your areas.”
Priyanka also met a team of anganwadi workers and ad-hoc teachers of primary schools who have long been demanding that their jobs be confirmed.
Before reaching Lucknow in the morning, Priyanka had written an open letter to the people of Uttar Pradesh, saying: “My relations with Uttar Pradesh are very old.
It is my responsibility today as a soldier of the Congress party to change the face of politics.”
She said the youth, women, farmer and labourers were upset because of the state government’s stagnant policies that denied them a voice.
“I am emotionally attached with this land. I believe that a political change cannot be initiated without listening to you and without sharing your pain. This is why I am reaching your doors for a genuine communication with you,” the letter said.
The letter, shared on social networking sites and released to the media, added: “I assure you that we will bring in political change on the foundation of truth and commitment after hearing you. We will move together to solve your issues.”
Priyanka made it clear that the Ganga would be central to her campaign in the state.
“I will use every means —waterways, buses, trains — even walk to reach you. The Ganga epitomises honesty and equality and is a sign of our Ganga-Jamuni culture,” her letter said.
“She (the Ganga) doesn’t differentiate between people. Gangaji is the base of Uttar Pradesh. I shall reach you with the help of Gangaji.”
The Ganga and the Yamuna (“Jamuna” in the local dialect), which flow through Uttar Pradesh before merging, are seen to symbolise the “Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb”, a regional fusion of the Hindu and Muslim cultures.
Modi had banked heavily on Ganga symbolism to win the 2014 elections, promising to clean the river and claiming he had chosen Varanasi as his constituency at the “call of Mother Ganga”.
Priyanka had first got involved in electioneering in 2004 when she campaigned for her mother Sonia Gandhi and brother Rahul Gandhi in Rae Bareli and Amethi.