Kicking off her party’s 100-day action plan to woo the ‘aadhi abadi’ (female population) in the coming assembly elections in Uttar pradesh, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra asked women folks to start fending for themselves. Priyanka was interacting with about 5000 women at Ramghat on the banks of Mandakini river in Chitrakoot on Wednesday.
The Congress programme focusing on ‘Ladki hoon, lad sakti hoon’ slogan saw women from all groups — mainly low-income groups — listen attentively to Priyanka’s speech on women empowerment. Priyanka also offered prayers at the famous Matgajendra Shiv temple in Chitrakoot. A special stage had been constructed on a boat for Priyanka Gandhi but the Congress leader chose to sit with the women during the interaction.
“Suno Draupadi, shastra utha lo. Ab Govind na aayenge. Kab tak aas lagaogi tum, bike hue akhbaron se. Kaisi Raksha maang rahi ho, Dushasan ke darbaron se. (Listen Draupadi, take up arms because now Lord Krishna will not come to your rescue. How long will you wait for justice from newspapers that are already sold out. What kind of protection are you seeking from Dushasan`s court.)," Priyanka asserted to the women.
The women audience, including Aanganwadi workers, ASHA workers, lawyers and members of self-help groups, spoke about their problems at home and at work and appreciated the reservation announced by the Congress for women candidates in the assembly elections. Priyanka assured them that her party would stand by them and help them in every possible way to resolve their problems.
“Providing 40 per cent tickets to women andidates in Assembly elections is just the beginning. I want half the population to contest 50 per cent seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Mobile phones promised by my party will help in your safety and the Scooty will help you in carrying out your studies. All journeys will be free for women in government buses and 40 per cent provision already exists for women in government posts," the Congress leader said. .
Priyanka targeted the BJP government saying that a Union minister`s son crushed agitating farmers in Lakhimpur but the BJP government helped him. “On the other hand, ASHA sisters were beaten up badly by the administration for raising their demands. When you are being exploited continuously and you are being tortured, then if you ask for your rights from those who beat you, you will never get it. You have to fight for your rights. If the government is not doing anything for you, then why should it be carried forward?” she asked.
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100-day action plan
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandi Vadra is betting high on women votes and hence planned a 100-day aggressive campaign after announcing 40 per cent Assebly election tickets to women in the next state elections.
The Congress leader also made big promises to woo women voters and for which a separate manifesto has been prepared. Some key promises include smartphone and two-wheelers for college-going girls, three free cylinders for housewives, free travel for women in government buses, honorarium of Rs 10,000 per month to ASHA and Anganwadi workers and old age-widow pension of Rs 1000 per month.
To give an edge to this mission, action plan ‘Adhi Abadi’ was kicked off by Priyanka from Chitrakoot on Wednesday. There are about 7 crore women voters in the state and Priyanka is banking on this significant portion of the electorate.
As per Congress to sources, the party was going to commence a big public relations campaign to reach out to four crore women voters in the next 100 days. A brigade of around 8,000 woman volunteers has been assigned for the task with the slogan ‘Ladki hoon, Lad sakti hoon". As many as 150 professionals are working on this campaign. The brigade will reach out to about 2 lakh women daily and convey the promises of Priyanka to them. Congress has prepared one crore Pink Silicone bands and attractive stickers for the campaign. Incidents of crime against women and the issue of inflation would be the main issued to be raised during the campaign.
At present, there are about 7 crore women voters in the state and of them, about 4 crore had voted in the 2017 Assembly elections. Interestingly, women voters turnout (63 per cent) was 4 per cent more that that of male voters who stood at 59 per cent. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections too, women voters turnout was 1 per cent more than male voters. Congress strategists feel, that about 60 per cent of women voters were in the18 to 35 age group and the party was eyeing it.
To popularize the campaign, there is also a plan to organize a marathon for girls, the winners of which will be given Scooty. The promotional campaign will be run in shopping malls and girls' colleges. There are also plans to form an influencer team of 1,000 women professionals like women doctors, lawyers and 5,000 mobile units. Congress' Digital team will send daily reports from every district to the Central Control Room. Data from the control room will be sent to the call center. A call center is running in Lucknow. Social media campaigns will be run on WhatsApp and Facebook.
Congress is focusing on 100 seats out of the total 403 Assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh. According to sources, a target has been set to contact every woman 10 times in these seats. Apart from the outreach campaign, Congress will organize 100 town halls that is special dialogue meetings across the state. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will address 10 town halls just like Chitrakoot the event held on Wednesday.