Priyanka Gandhi to address 6 rallies in Uttar Pradesh in October

New Delhi, September 21: After the Congress appointed a Dalit as the Chief Minister of Punjab, the party has planned six rallies in Uttar Pradesh to be addressed by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

The rallies have been planned for the Meerut and Agra divisions in Western Uttar Pradesh; and Varanasi, Azamgarh, Prayagraj and Deoria in the eastern part of the state.

The party is also planning a rally in Gorakhpur to take the fight directly to the chief minister's fort.

The source said that the date and venues of the rallies have not been finalised yet, but the party is working on them.

The party has also said that the Punjab and Chhattisgarh Chief Ministers are likely to share the stage with Priyanka, as Bhupesh Baghel belongs to the Kurmi OBC community, which has a sizeable population in Uttar Pradesh.

The Congress is trying to give a message to the Dalit community that it is the party which has made a Dalit Chief Minister.

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will also be visiting Lucknow soon to give a final shape to the "Pratigya Yatra" programme to be launched by the party unit ahead of the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh next year.

She will have scheduled meetings with the manifesto committee and with the election committee to assess the party's poll preparedness in the state, sources said.

Priyanka is likely to participate in one of the training programmes being organised by Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee.

The Congress in Uttar Pradesh will take out a 'Congress Pratigya Yatra' with the tagline -- 'Hum Vachan Nibhayenge', ahead of the Assembly elections, due early next year.

Priyanka has said that the yatra would cover a distance of 12,000 kilometres and will pass through all major villages and towns.

The date of the yatra is yet undecided, though sources said that it was likely to begin on the Gandhi Jayanti on October 2.