As the fledgling Samajwadi Party and Congress alliance plans its strategy to take on the formidable BJP and BSP in a three-corner battle of Uttar Pradesh, for the first time Congress had included Priyanka Gandhi in the list of “star campaigners”, while former State SP president Shivpal Singh Yadav, the man who recently brought the party on the verge of a vertical split, found no mention. Akhilesh’s list of star campaigners includes party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, who did not turn up at the manifesto launch ceremony of the SP two days ago.
Priyanka’s inclusion in the list of star campaigners can be beginning of a new chapter in the Congress politics. While it is not clear if Priyanka will campaign outside Rae Bareli and Amethi, but it is obvious that she has decided to be more than a mobiliser for her mother Sonia Gandhi and brother Rahul Gandhi in these two family bastions. Poster are already out, showing Priyankla and Dimple Yadav, MP and wife of Chief Minister Akhilesh, indicating the role the two parties might have planned for Priyanka.
Priyanka’s name figures among the 40 star campaigners that the Congress has finalised and forwarded to the Election Commission for the first phase of Uttar Pradesh polls. Though she does not hold any political post in the Congress, Priyanka has turned active ever since Rahul assumed a leadership role after Sonia Gandhi started not keeping well.
Party sources said efforts are being made from both sides of the alliance partners to organise a mega rally comprising Akhilesh, Dimple, Rahul and Priyanaka during the month-long campaign. Her inclusion in the star campaigners list also assumes significance as there have been demands by partymen for her playing a more active role in Uttar Pradesh elections.
Sonia and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are also among the star campaigners list.
Besides, AICC general secretary in-charge of UP affairs Ghulam Nabi Azad and UP Congress chief Raj Babbar and former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who was earlier projected as the party’s chief ministerial face in the State but bowed out after a pre-poll alliance with the SP, are also in the list.
Former lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, former Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, party general secretaries Janardan Dwivedi, Ahmed Patel, Kamal Nath, Mukul Wasnik also figure in the list.
Former Chief Ministers of Haryana and Rajasthan Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Ashok Gehlot; UP leaders Pramod Tiwari, Pradeep Mathur, Nirmal Khatri and Pl Punia; in-charge of communications department Randeep Surjewala; besides Manish Tiwari, who was denied a party ticket in Punjab; and actor Nagma, who unsuccessfully contested the 2014 lok Sabha polls, are among the star campaigners. Parliamentary Secretary to former CM Sheila Dikshit and a three time MlA Naseeb Singh will also be the campaigner for brining Gujjar votes in the Congress’ account.
Meanwhile, the SP list of ‘star campaigner’ includes Mulayam, Akhilesh and Dimple. The three other lok Sabha MPs, all from the first family of the SP -- Akshay Yadav, MP from Ferozabad and son of Ram Gopal Yadav, Dharmendra Yadav and Tej Pratap Singh Yadav -- are also in the list of the star campaigners of the party. Shivpal Yadav, the estranged uncle of the party national president Akhilesh Yadav is conspicuous by his absence in the list. Rajya Sabha member Beni Prasad Verma is also missing in the list. His son Rakesh Verma, after being denied ticket from Ramnagar Assembly seat in Barabanki has turned rebel and is likely to join the BJP.
The list, containing the names of total 40 party leaders, was release by SP general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav on Tuesday. The list has been submitted to the Election Commission. The expenses on the election meetings conducted by the star campaigners of a political party are not included in the election expenditure of the candidate. The other names included in the list are national vice president Kironmoy Nanda, Azam Khan, Ram Gopal Yadav, Naresh Agarwal, Jaya Bacchan, State SP president Naresh Uttam, former MP Ramji lal Suman. Youth leaders close to Akhilesh -- Javed Abdi, Sanjay lather, Mohammed Abad and Abu Asim Azmi, the state president of the Maharashtra unit of the party -- have also been included in the list. The list of star campaigners also includes nine MlCs -Udaivir Singh, Ram sakal Gujjar, Jaswant Singh Yadav, Rakesh Yadav, Sarojini Agarwal, Sahab Singh Saini, Virendra Singh Gujjar, Asim Yadav and Ramvriksh Yadav.