Priyanka Gandhi reaches Lucknow; will kick off boat-ride campaign from Prayagraj tomorrow

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath when asked about Priyanka's boat ride programme, said to ABP News: "Ganga has been cleaned now, she is welcome."

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Photo: Twitter

New Delhi: As the time of electioneering for the Lok Sabha polls has begun, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has set off on her Uttar Pradesh tour on Sunday. Priyanka reached Lucknow on Sunday, where she visited the Congress office. She will reach out to the electorate via river route on Monday. After meeting with the leaders who were the party’s candidates in the assembly elections, Priyanka is scheduled to hold a meeting with Committee members, in Lucknow. On Monday, Priyanka will formally kick off campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls from the political hotbed of eastern Uttar Pradesh, Prayagraj and Varanasi, using the river route, where she will begin her proramme "Saanchi baat Priyanka ke sath." "It would be the first time that any leader of this stature will be reaching out to the electorate using the river route in a motorboat, getting first-hand account of the people residing in these remote riverine areas,"said  Congress spokesman Dwijendra Tripathi. Priyanka, 47, who was recently appointed Congress general secretary incharge of eastern UP, will cover a distance of about 110 to 112 km touching Prayagraj, Bhadohi, Mirzapur and Varanasi. She will address people at several places during her three-day journey, they said on Thursday. Reaching the villages by river, she will use the narrow broken trail taken by the locals to interact with as many people as possible, Awasthi said, adding that a detailed programme is being worked out. However, due to the low level of water, a change has been brought in Priyanka’s tour. The boat ride will now start  at Manaiya Ghat in Karchhana area of Allahabad, instead of Phulpur’s Chhatnag Ghat. On the first day, Priyanka will address four small-level meetings in Prayagraj. Several senior Congress leaders have reached Prayagraj ahead of the event. The river route campaign will provide Priyanka  an opportunity to interact the commoners and know their problems, the biggest of which is caused by recurring floods in these areas as well as the reality of Ganga cleaning, which was first launched by former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, Dwijendra Tripathi said. Another Congress spokesman Anshu Tripathi said, "These villages and people have been living on the fringes since long and have been neglected by successive state governments in the last 30 years. This is an attempt by the Congress leadership to let them know its sincerity for all sections of people, including the neglected ones." Congress circles say that Priyanka may offer prayers at Maa Vindhayavasini temple in Mirzapur and Kashi Vishwanath in Varanasi, the Lok Sabha constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Yogi Adityanath's remark:  Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath when asked about Priyanka's boat ride programme, said to ABP News: "Ganga has been cleaned now, she is welcome." Speaking at Shikhar Sammelan, UP, Adiyanath said that "even Ganga Yatra of Akhilesh and Mayawtai is also welcome." Here is tentative schedule of Priyanka Gandhi's boat ride campaign: Day-1, Monday  (18-03-2019):

• Arrival- Manaiya (9.30am): Boarding on Boat- Starting of Yatra - Departure – Manaiya - Boat pe Charcha with Students delegation
• Arrival – Dumduma (Time: 11am)- Meeting with people/ Reception
• Arrival – Sirsa (Time: 12 noon)- Ghat Reception- Sirsa Village visit
• Arrival – Lakchhagrih (Time: 1 pm)-Ghat Reception
• Arrival- Manda (Time : 2 pm)-Reception
• Arrival- Sitamadhi (Time: 4 pm) -Ghat Reception-Night Stay