UP polls: Sonia, Manmohan among Congress star campaigners for first phase

The Congress party on Monday released a list of 30-star campaigners for the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.

The list includes Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Ghulam Nabi Azad and RPN Singh.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel are also in the list.

Former JNU Students' Union chief Kanhaiya Kumar who had joined the Congress in September last year will also be campaigning for the state assembly polls.

Apart from Azad, some other 'G-23' leaders are also in the list including Bhupinder Singh Hooda. The G-23 leaders had written to Sonia Gandhi demanding sweeping reforms in the party including elections at various levels.

Congress will be holding a virtual campaign door-to-door campaign in the electorally crucial state as Election Commission has extended a ban on big physical rallies in view of a rise in COVID-19 cases.

Senior party leaders will be part of door-to-door campaigns. They will also address small meetings as permitted by the election authorities following all COVID-19 protocols, sources said.

Uttar Pradesh will go for a seven-phase election from February 10. The state assembly has 403 seats.

In the 2017 assembly election in the state, Bharatiya Janata Party won 312 seats, Samajwadi Party (SP) 47, Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) 19 and Congress seven.