Priyanka Gandhi Is Our ‘Captain’ And 'Leading Us' In Uttar Pradesh: Salman Khurshid

Congress leader Salman Khurshid has said it is up to Priyanka Gandhi to decide the manner in which she will present herself to the voters in the upcoming state assembly polls.

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra addresses during Jan Sankalp Rally, in Gandhinagar. (Image: PTI)

New Delhi: Asserting AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi is a “great face” and the “captain” leading the party’s charge in Uttar Pradesh, former union minister and Congress leader Salman Khurshid has said it is up to the former to decide the manner in which she will present herself to the voters in the upcoming state assembly polls.

“I am not going to answer that till such time as she does not give us an indication. But she is a wonderful, great face,” PTI quoted Khurshid as saying while responding if Priyanka Gandhi was the party's best bet to be the chief ministerial face in Uttar Pradesh.

“All you have to do is to put the picture of (UP Chief Minister) Yogi (Adityanath) in front of you and Priyanka Gandhi's picture and you won't need to ask any more questions. But the manner in which she will present herself offers herself to the voters in UP will be her decision,” he added.

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Khurshid, who is the chief of the Congress party’s manifesto committee for Uttar Pradesh, further said Priyanka Gandhi will soon take a decision in this regard.

“As far as we are concerned she is the captain and she is leading us,” he added.

When asked about the Congress still not being the principal challenger in Uttar Pradesh despite Priyanka Gandhi’s efforts, Khurshid acknowledged that the party was not the principal challenger as of now.

He, however, emphasized that Congress will emerge as the principal challenger to the BJP before the assembly elections.

The Congress leader further said, “nobody has specifically talked to us about an alliance” in Uttar Pradesh, adding there is no point in hypotheticals being discussed.

“So if someone wants to talk about alliances, I think we will have to first figure this out. Do alliances work in UP, can they work in UP? What was lacking in the last alliance and what we need to do?” he said.

The BJP won a thumping majority winning 312 seats in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly in the 2017 elections.

The Congress bagged just seven seats while its alliance partner Samajwadi Party (SP) won 47 seats. Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) won 19 seats.