Priyanka's 'women card' aims to create momentum for Congress in Uttar Pradesh

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi's announcement on Tuesday that 40 per cent of candidates will be women is aimed at creating momentum for the party in the state, which has a very weak organisation on the ground ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections early next year.

The decision to field a large number of women comes against the backdrop of Priyanka pitching for early announcement of candidates for the Assembly polls at the Congress Working Committee last Saturday reasoning that it could help stem desertions at the last minute.

The party's Central Election Committee is set to meet soon and it is expected that Priyanka's announcement would be reflected in the first list of candidates itself.

With Priyanka "leading from the front", the Congress expects that the 'women card' it has unveiled will "set the agenda" in the UP polls and put other parties, especially the ruling BJP that cannot boast of exemplary action in crime against women, on the backfoot.

Also Read | Congress sounds poll bugle in UP: 40% tickets to women, announces Priyanka Gandhi

"The announcement is...truly unprecedented and historic. It is a turning point in Indian politics," Congress Working Committee member Jairam Ramesh tweeted.

Rivals have not taken Congress's move lightly. BJP's IT cell chief Amit Malviya tweeted that while Gandhis pontificate on women empowerment, not a day passes in Rajasthan, a Congress-ruled state, when a woman, often a Dalit, is not raped or molested. BSP chief Mayawati also questioned the move, saying the move was "pure election drama".

During the last Lok Sabha elections, 6.70 crore or 45.89 per cent of total voters in UP were women. Of this, 3.99 crore or 46.16 per cent of women voters cast their votes.

The Congress move takes a leaf out of the successful strategy of leaders like Chandrababu Naidu (TDP), Nitish Kumar (JD-U), Naveen Patnaik (BJD), Mamata Banerjee (Trinamool Congress) and Arvind Kejriwal (AAP), who used women-centric schemes for leaping into power.

Party functionaries particularly refer to the cycle scheme for girls in Andhra Pradesh under Naidu and in Bihar under Nitish. While Patnaik reserved 33 per cent of its seats for women in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Trinamool Congress always boasts about ensuring that at least 30 per cent of their winning lawmakers are women.

Counting on the logic that Congress is not a cadre-based party but a mass-based organisation, party managers believe that the move to field 40 per cent of candidates — around 160-170 women out of the total 403 if Congress fights from all seats — would widen its base and create a momentum for the party, which has not much organisation on the ground.

"This will create momentum. More people will see Congress as a credible organisation to support. Priyanka Gandhi's entry and a series of protests she held in UP, especially on crime against women will surely help the party to improve its tally," a senior leader said.

The party is confident that Priyanka has resonance among the masses and select recent protests increased her reach. Priyanka's pro-active approach in Hathras and Sonbhadra sexual assault cases had made the Congress as a visible Opposition face, they feel.

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