To give boost to their last minute alliance, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav will unfold their campaign plan in a joint press conference here on coming Sunday.
``Rahul Gandhi is coming to lucknow on Sunday and will hold a joint press conference with Akhilesh Yadav”, confirmed chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) Satyadeo Tripathi here on Friday evening. Earlier, the two were scheduled to make a joint announcement about the alliance on January 22, but later the two state chiefs Raj Babbar and Naresh Uttam did the honours and addressed a press conference. The deal was sealed after overcoming a series of hiccups. However, the low-profile launch couldn’t make the desired impact, therefore a joint press conference has been hastily planned, confirmed sources in the Congress.
Akhilesh has already started addressing rallies, but Rahul is so far busy in Punjab which is going to the polls in the first phase on February 11. He is likely to fly for lucknow for a joint press conference on Sunday after addressing a meeting in Punjab. Therefter, joint rallies of the two leaders are likely to be scheduled.
“The Akhilesh-Rahul show is aimed at removing confusion and promote mutual confidence to make it a smooth and long-lasting friendship,” says a UP Congress leader. large-scale preparations are undergoing to make the joint press conference a mega event. An extensive media coverage of the event has been planned. Sources said that Akhilesh and Rahul-Priyanka Vadra are in constant touch through strategist Prashant Kishore to draw the strategy for the event.