Priyanka to campaign with Rahul in Rae Bareli

Lucknow: After weeks of dilly-dallying, postponements and cancellations, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is set to campaign for the Congress in the ongoing Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections on Friday.

According to senior Congress leaders of Uttar Pradesh unit, Priyanka will be showing up with brother Rahul Gandhi in Rae Bareli, a parliamentary seat held by her mother Sonia Gandhi.

The absence of Priyanka, who is a great crowd puller and is among the 40 'star campaigners' the party has listed for the polls, had reportedly upset the cadres, specially in the family bastion of Amethi-Rae Bareli, where she has been campaigning in previous elections.

This time, the Congress has entered an alliance with the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP).

Informed sources said many campaign programmes of Priyanka Vadra had been made and cancelled in the past owing to the seat-sharing formula on these seats continuing to be an irritant.

Now since both the alliance partners have withdrawn five candidates each from their side, she is said to have agreed to come and campaign.

She was one of the main negotiators with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav when the alliance talks were on the brink of collapse.

While her name has been repeatedly appearing in the star campaigner list of the party, she is likely to restrict herself to Amethi-Rae Bareli only, an informed party source told IANS.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi is scheduled to address a rally on February 20.

She has so far kept herself away from campaigning as she is reportedly not in "the best of health".

Rae Bareli goes to polls on February 23 and Amethi on February 27.