All India Congress Committee vice president Rahul Gandhi will arrive in Dehradun on December 23 to address a mass rally to be held on the day by the Congress party. Before this, in order to organisationally gear up for the Vidhan Sabha election 2017, the Pradesh Election Committee (PEC) will hold its first meeting here on December 18, said the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Kishore Upadhyay.
Addressing the media at the Congress Bhawan on Sunday, the PCC chief said that there was considerable “enthusiasm” among the Congress cadre in view of the Vidhan Sabha elections slated for 2017. He said, “About 1,000 applications from senior party leaders and party workers have already been received for the party tickets to contest in the Vidhan Sabha elections in 70 assembly constituencies. In view of the assembly polls, the first meeting of the Pradesh Election Committee has been called on December 18 at the Congress Bhawan. Along with the PEC members, the Congress state in charge Ambika Soni and the party’s state co in charge Sanjay Kapur will also be attending this meeting,” he said, while adding that some senior party leaders will also be included in the committee for its expansion.
Upadhyay further said that the Congress party is fully prepared for the 2017 Vidhan Sabha elections with the party leaders and party workers enthusiastically looking forward to it. The applications received by the party for candidacy in the Vidhan Sabha elections will be discussed in detail by the committee members. Attempt will be made to reach general consensus on all the Vidhan Sabha seats so as to ensure the victory of the candidate fielded by the Congress, said Upadhyay. He further informed that the party will undertake a 'Jan Ashirvad Yatra' from Harkipaidi in Haridwar to Piran Kaliyar at Roorkee on December 19 which will also focus on raising public awareness on the developmental works and schemes of the state government. The party has also asked all the contenders for the party ticket to hold a ‘Yatra’ of at least 11 kilometres out of which they should rally five kilometres on foot in order to inform the public about the various achievements of the Congress and the State Government. Upadhyay also informed that on December 13, senior party leader and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will hold a meeting with party workers in Dehradun and also address a Press conference on the occasion.