Priyanka Gandhi finalising list of Congress candidates for UP polls: Report

Priyanka Gandhi may not hold any official position in the Congress party but she is calling the shots in finalising the tickets of party candidates for upcoming Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.

According to a report in Times of India, since Congress president Sonia is not keeping good health, her daughter Priyanka has taken the lead in finalising strategy and heading the campaign for 2017 Assembly polls in UP.

Quoting senior leaders of the Congress, the TOI report says that the party has prepared a list of 80 candidates for the polls, most of whom were cleared by Priyanka Gandhi.

"This week, we prepared a list of 80 candidates and are in the process of finalizing the first list. The total number of candidates in the final list may go up to 100. Priyanka has handpicked almost all of them,” TOI quoted its source as saying.

“Most constituencies in the first list are seen as safe seats. These include seats in districts like Saharanpur and Hapur, where we are strong. The list will be out by the end of August," he added.

The report quotes a party source as saying that Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) is lobbying hard to ensure that Priyanka hits the campaign trail by October this year.