Former president of Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee and sitting MlA from Cantt Assembly seat, Rita Bhauguna Joshi filed her nomination for the lucknow Parliamentary
seat on Saturday. She claimed to be all set to win the elections despite of facing multi-corner contest including that from national president of Bharatiya Janta Party, Rajnath Singh.
Rita, gave a tough fight to BJP’s lalji Tendon last time and remained runners-up during the Parliament elections in 2009. Congress candidate from Mohanlalganj reserved constituency, Narendra Gautam also filed his papers on Saturday.``The people of lucknow are with me as they wanted to defeat the BJP which had done nothing for the development of city despite of having their MP now for almost last two decades including prime minister Atal Bihari Bajpayee. Besides, they also enjoyed the city maryor’s post and majority of corporators", Rita cited saying that she wanted the people to look what she had done during her short tensure as MlA of just Assembly segment of lucknow.
On Rajnath fighting against her, Rita claimed that BJP candidate had nothing behind him except that he is national president. Congress candidate, however, said that same Rajnath was defeated here in the Assembly elections after which he never returned to this city and now he came back to seek blessings of people of state capital but they would not forgive him but give a befitting reply by defeating him with a record margin.
Earlier, Rita Bahuguna along with over ten thousand of her supporters and party activists left State head quarter of the Party in Mall Avenue to file her nomination on Saturday
afternoon. She also performed an all religion meeting in the ongress office after which her procession started amidst supporters dancing to traditional `Punjabi Dhol’ and throwing gulal and flower petals at each other. Rita, was also accompanied by former governor and veteran Congress leader, Moti lal Vora, former Congress legislative Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP, Pramod Tewari, MP Parvej Hashmi, AICC secretary, Zubair and president of All India Mahila Congress Committee, Shobha Ojha etc. Interestingly, state president Nirmal Khatri as well as ClP, Pradeep Mathur did not turned up to join Rita Bahuguna’s procession even when it started from UPCC.
later the procession passing through lal Bhadhur Shastri Marg, lalbagh, Kaiserbagh, Partivartan Chowk, reached Collectrate when Rita along with four other leaders, which
also including former MlAs, Mohamed Rafi Siddiqui, Shyam Kishore Shukla etc went inside and filed her nomination for the lucknow Parliament seat before returning officer, on Saturday afternoon. On way from UPCC to Kuthcheri, party leaders welcome Rita Bahuguna and other Party leaders at various places and seek vote support from the local public for Rita Bahuguna.