Kamal Nath hails Priyanka's efforts, says UP poll results will be surprising

The results of the Uttar Pradesh polls will be very surprising due to the anger of the people there towards the BJP government as well as the stellar campaign efforts of his partys general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath said on Monday.Uttar Pradesh will go to polls in seven phases between February 10 and March 7, with results being declared on March 10.The Ladki Hoon Lad Sakti Hoon campaign launched by Priyanka Gandhi has filled the people of every religion and caste with new vigour.

The results of the Uttar Pradesh polls will be very surprising due to the anger of the people there towards the BJP government as well as the stellar campaign efforts of his party's general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath said on Monday.

Uttar Pradesh will go to polls in seven phases between February 10 and March 7, with results being declared on March 10.

''The 'Ladki Hoon Lad Sakti Hoon' campaign launched by Priyanka Gandhi has filled the people of every religion and caste with new vigour. The poll results of Uttar Pradesh will be a surprising one,” Nath told a press conference at his residence here.

''I have visited UP recently and was associated with the state right from my Youth Congress days. The people are angry with the ruling party. The efforts of Priyanka Gandhi will intensify now and will bring a lot of change. The polls results in UP will be surprising not just for the Congress but the entire state,'' he added.

He said polls cannot be won just on the basis of exit polls, adding that he was in UP some 10-15 days ago, had interacted with old colleagues as well as teens and women in the 35 years age bracket, all of whom seemed very enthusiastic about the Congress' campaign. In an apparent swipe at the BJP, Nath said polls cannot be won by advertisements as 95 per cent voters are connected to social media and are well-informed, up from possibly 25 per cent till some time ago.

Every citizen of that state wants to secure their future and the kind of governance they saw in the last four to five years (of the BJP) would reflect in the way they would vote in the upcoming polls, he added. The UP Congress model of giving 40 per cent tickets to women will be discussed with the local leadership. he said when asked if it would be replicated in the 2023 Assembly polls in MP.

''I am always in favour of encouraging women in politics and other fields,'' he said.

Answering a query on becoming chief minister again, Nath, who held the top post from December, 2018 to March, 2020, said it was not his aim and the mission was to ensure MP was safe.

''If that (being CM) was my aim, I would have indulged in horse-trading like they (BJP) did. My aim is to stand with the people and not run after a chair,'' he claimed.

Queried on the COVID-19 situation in the state, Nath reiterated his stand that 2.5 lakh people had died of the infection, claiming that his figures were tabulated from cremation grounds etc and not from the party. Against the backdrop of the OBC quota issue, Nath said BJP allegations about the Congress putting hurdles in the conduct of the panchayat polls in the state was ''drama''.

He also clarified that his 15-month-old government had never dubbed the media as a ''thief'' and this perception was completely wrong.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)