ELECTIONS

After Advani, is it now Priyanka's turn?

By Pankaj Upadhaya and Onkar Singh
March 29, 2004 10:12 IST

The Congress party plans to pay back the Bharatiya Janata Party in the same coin -- through a rath yatra.

Sources told rediff.com that Priyanka Vadra, Congress president Sonia Gandhi's daughter, will lead the yatra.

The yatra will travel from Hardwar to Rae Bareli. The dates for the yatra have not been decided yet.

The rath is being created at the Lodhi Estate home of former Congress MP Akhilesh Das in New Delhi. Das is the son of former Uttar Pradesh chief Banarasi Das.

Sources said Das mooted the idea of the yatra to Sonia Gandhi a couple of weeks ago. Sonia gave the go ahead last week, sources added.

Congress Media Secretary Tom Vaddakan told rediff.com he had heard that Priyanka would embark on a yatra, but refused to confirm or deny the information.

From Hardwar, the rath will travel through Saharanpur, Muzzaffarpur, Meerut, Bulandshahr, Khurja, Aligarh, Hathras, Etah, Agra, Etawah, Kanpur, Allahabad, Amethi before arriving at Rae Bareli.

Priyanka's brother Rahul is contesting the Amethi Lok Sabha seat while her mother is the Congress nominee from Rae Bareli.

Pankaj Upadhaya and Onkar Singh
NewsBusinessMoviesSportsCricketGet AheadDiscussionLabsMyPageVideosCompany Email