Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
Highlights
- Congress has been reduced to a virtual non-player in UP where it is contesting polls solo
- The party has been losing its ground in the country since its 2014 defeat in the Lok Sabha polls
- Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi are the fourth-generation Congress leaders
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday took a jibe at the Congress party, saying 'the siblings' -- a clear reference to Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, are enough to ruin the grand old party.
"The siblings (Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra) are enough to ruin the Congress. No one else is needed for that," Adityanath told news agency ANI.
BJP leaders often talk about the Congress' dynastic politics to target Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Rahul and Priyanka are the fourth-generation Congress leaders after their great grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru who served as the country's first Prime Minister from 1947 to 1964. His daughter Indira Gandhi and grandson Rajiv Gandhi (son of Indira) also served as the Prime Minister. Rahul and Priyanka are children of Rajiv.
The Congress has been losing its ground since its 2014 defeat in the Lok Sabha. The party had won just 44 seats in the general elections held in 2014, thus failing to get the minimum number of seats (55 or 10% of total strength) to claim the Leader of Opposition post. In the 2017 Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, the party contested elections in an alliance with the Samajwadi Party. However, it failed drastically, winning just 7 of the 114 seats it had contested.
When the general elections were held in 2019, the party won 52 seats, again failing to get the minimum number of seats for the Leader of Opposition post.
This UP election, the Congress, which has been reduced to a virtual non-player in Uttar Pradesh over the past years, is going to the polls alone with youth and women in focus. It has already reserved 40 per cent of tickets for women in the state. Priyanka has been spearheading the Congress' campaign in the state where the party has been out of power since 1989.
Uttar Pradesh had a Congress Chief Minister till 1967, then again from 1969 to 1970. The state saw another CM from Congress gracing the position until 1975, barring a brief period of the President’s rule.
Congress leader ND Tiwari was the last Congress leader to serve as the CM of Uttar Pradesh. He held the position thrice -- 1976 to 1977; 1984 to 1985 and 1988 to 1989. Since then, there hasn’t been a single Congress CM who has ruled the country's most populated state.
Several opinion polls have predicted a rout for the grand old party in the Assembly polls. According to an opinion poll by Ground Zero Research for India TV, the Congress party will win 2 to 5 seats in the polls.
The seven-phased polls in Uttar Pradesh are currently underway. The result will be declared on March 10.
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