Lucknow: Members of the district committee of the Congress in Allahabad have suggested the name of Priyanka Gandhi as the probable candidate for the by-election for the Phulpur Lok Sabha seat.
The name was unanimously suggested after a meeting in Allahabad on Wednesday. The final decision, however, will be taken by the party high command.
The district general secretary of Congress, Haseeb Ahmad, said, “An important meeting of district congress committee took place and I along with Congress workers proposed the name of Priyanka Gandhi to our district president for Phulpur by-election.
“We suggested her name as this was the first parliamentary seat of Jawaharlal Nehru. The proposal has been sent to the top leadership for final decision in this regard,” he added.
Speaking on the issue, the former state spokesperson of Congress, Abhay Awasthi Baba, said that the proposal was sent keeping in mind the sentiments of the workers. If this proposal is accepted by the top Congress leadership, then this will be a good start for the party for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Phulpur seat which was vacated by Keshav Prasad Maurya when he was picked as the deputy chief minister after elections last year, was once considered a strong hold of Indian National Congress and had also sent India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to the Parliament. Not just Nehru, both Indira Gandhi and VP Singh had won from Phulpur and went on to become Prime Minister.
Candidate selection will be the key when Phulpur votes on March 11, while the last date of the nomination is February 20. The constituency will share the spotlight with Gorakhpur, the Lok Sabha seat vacated by CM Yogi Adityanath. The counting of votes will be held on March 14.
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