Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi begins poll campaign in Assam

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra arrived here on Monday to campaign for the party in Assam, where the Congress-led seven-party alliance will take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led three-party coalition.

Priyanka soon after her arrival offered prayers at the famous Kamakhya Devi Temple, which was rebuilt in 1565 by Koch king Naranarayana and is one of the 51 holy and venerated sites in India.

Assam Congress Media Department Chairperson Bobbeeta Sharma said that during her Assam tour, Priyanka would hold interactions with party office bearers and diverse groups of people of the poll-bound Assam and address public meetings in Tezpur on Tuesday.

The Congress leader would launch a statewide campaign for the unemployed youths and hold interaction with tea garden women workers and Self-Help Group members.

Former Congress President and Lok Sabha member Rahul Gandhi on February 14 visited the state and addressed a public gathering in eastern Assam's Sivasagar.

The Congress, which was in power in the state for 15 years (2001-2016) until the BJP-led alliance came to power in Assam in 2016, had formed the 'Mahagathbandhan' (Grand Alliance) with three Left parties -- CPI(M), CPI and CPI(ML) -- as well as the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), the Anchalik Gana Morcha, Bodoland People's Front (BPF), three regional parties having a political base among the Muslims and indigenous people, respectively.

The BPF on Sunday joined the Congress-led grand alliance a day after snapping its ties with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

The BJP, after the Bodoland Territorial Council polls in December last year, had forged an alliance with new ally United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) after discarding incumbent partner BPF.

The BJP has decided to fight the polls in western Assam's tribal dominated Bodoland area in alliance with new ally UPPL besides Asom Gana Parishad.

The elections to the 126-member Assam Assembly will be held in three phases on March 27, April 1 and April 6. The results will be declared on May 2.

--IANS

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