Candidates for Amethi, Raebareli to be announced at right time: Avinash Pandey

Lucknow: Amid the suspense over candidates for the Amethi and Raebareli Lok Sabha seats, Congress Uttar Pradesh in-charge Avinash Pandey on Monday said the names would be announced at the "right time".

The two high-profile constituencies were long considered the bastions of the Gandhi family. Sonia Gandhi, who represented Raebareli in the Lok Sabha since 2004, has moved to the Upper House of Parliament, while her son Rahul Gandhi was defeated in the last general elections in Amethi by the BJP's Smriti Irani.

"Amethi and Raebareli are important Lok Sabha constituencies, not only for the Congress but for the entire Uttar Pradesh. We have apprised the party's national leadership about the sentiments of the public and the party workers of the state," Pandey told reporters.

Despite demands from party workers that Rahul Gandhi be fielded from Amethi and Priyanka Gandhi from Raebareli, the Congress is yet to announce its candidates for these seats. The party's state unit president Ajay Rai has strongly advocated for the candidature of the Gandhi siblings from the seats.

"There is a strategy in politics and the names will be announced as per the strategy when the right time comes. The announcement will be made by the Central Election Committee," Pandey told reporters here.

On Prime Minister Narendra Modi's allegation that a large part of the Congress manifesto has a Muslim League imprint and the rest is dominated by Leftists, the Congres leader said, "The manifesto has been made keeping in mind the sentiments of the people of the country.

"What are the things that are troubling the prime minister? It is natural for them to think about ways to divert people's attention from the popular manifesto. The failure of the BJP-led Union government in the last 10 years and the growing anger among the people are the reasons which are forcing them to do this," he said.

Hitting out at the prime minister, Pandey said people have seen the effectiveness of Modi's guarantees and statements in the last 10 years.

"The prime minister should please tell people when he will stop dividing the country and spreading poison in the society. When will he restore democracy and let democracy work," he asked.

Leaders from the Samajwadi Party and the Congress met here and discussed campaign strategies for the Lok Sabha elections and holding joint rallies in Uttar Pradesh.

Pandey said the focus of the meeting was on running a joint election campaign, identifying areas for improvement and boosting cooperation among the two constituents of the opposition INDIA bloc.

He said there is a strong coordination between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress at every level.

A grand rally of the opposition alliance will be held in Uttar Pradesh soon, Pandey said, adding information about a joint campaign by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Rahul Gandhi, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi will also be shared very soon.