Coaching Centres for Competitive Exams, Free Power Likely to Figure on Cong's Manifesto for UP Polls

An allowance for the young and elderly, farm loan waiver, coaching centers for competitive exams and free electricity – all this may feature in the Congress manifesto for the Uttar Pradesh elections in the leadership of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, News18 has learnt.

The grand old Congress party is gearing up to finalise its manifesto for the 2022 polls. The Congress party had been running a public campaign across the state to gather inputs for their manifesto and people were reached through social media and other digital mediums and written advice was also sought from intellectual class and mass organizations across the state.

Sources in the Congress party, familiar with the issue revealed, “The work has been underway for more than six months to take feedback from known, intellectual and common people of the state. Some associations who are raising the voice of the unemployed youth were also reached out by the party. Apart from this lawyers and farmers’ bodies have also been reached out in every district.”

“The key points are going to be the development of the state, loans on farmers and a possible loan waiver, employment, atrocities on women and how to make them self-reliant. The chief of manifesto committee Salman Khursheed is visiting all the districts for a two-day minimum and is seeking feedback from people. Things are also being worked out on providing free electricity till 300 units and slashing the rates by 50% for next 200 units,” revealed the source.

Revealing the issues that are being worked out for the Congress manifesto, the source informed, “We are also focusing on Coaching centres at rural level for competitive exams, opening such centres in urban areas are feasible for people who live in villages. Apart from this, some allowance is also being worked out for providing some allowance to all the elderly people above 60 years of age in order to secure their future, we have also got suggestions for an allowance for youngsters, discussion is underway for it. The Congress will try to announce their manifesto by December as we want to keep the focus back on real issues unlike BJP who is always playing communal and religious card.”

Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee Chief Ajay Kumar Lallu said the manifesto was being worked upon and was in the final phase. Speaking to News18, the UPCC Chief said, “The work for collection of data along with feasibility and the implantation of the promises that shall be made are being worked upon. The final draft of the manifesto will be compiled soon. We don’t want to announce anything that is practically not possible.”

The UP Congress had decided to reach out to the public to finalise the election manifesto for the 2022 state assembly polls. A strategy was earlier finalised for curating the election manifesto and key points that are likely to be included are law and order situation, farmers’ issues, corruption, unemployment and worsening economic conditions. The Congress UP incharge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had also taken a key meeting of the manifesto committee recently which included Manifesto Committee Chief Salman Khursheed, Rajya Sabha MP PL Punia, Supriya Shrinate, Vivek Bansal, Amitabh Dubey along with Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee President Ajay Kumar Lallu and MLA leader Aradhana Mishra Mona.

On the issue of rumours and news reports regarding announcing tickets of 50 odd candidates, the UPCC Chief said, “These are all rumours, nothing of this sort has been done now. The announcement of candidates will also be done soon.”

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