INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
underscored his respect for Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav - two top opposition leaders in Uttar Pradesh - who are likely to see its move to
place Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at driver's seat in eastern Uttar Pradesh as a mark of belligerence.While BJP has sent its good wishes to
Priyanka Gandhi, both opposition leaders have maintained silence."We have no enmity against Akhilesh and Mayawati
I respect Mayawati and Akhilesh and we are willing to cooperate
No problem if they want to talk with us," Mr Gandhi said today, after announcing Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's entry to active politics from party
bastion Amethi.Reiterating that Congress won't "play on backfoot anywhere", he said, "We didn't do it in Gujarat or anywhere else and we
won't do it here in UP".The Congress move comes days after UP leaders announced an alliance for state that left out Congress
The two leaders pointed out that their decision was made in view of ground situation, which indicated that Congress could not bring much to
table."There is not much benefit to us from allying with Congress
We have decided that we will not tie up with a party like Congress across country where they can't transfer votes to us," said Mayawati, who
is known to have been upset with Congress over when talks for seat sharing fell through in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh ahead
of recent assembly elections.At time, Mr Gandhi, who was in Dubai, had made it clear that Congress will make its way, that it has "lots to
offer to people of Uttar Pradesh"."I have tremendous respect for leaders of BSP and Samajwadi Party, and recognise that they have right to
It's on us to strengthen Congress party in Uttar Pradesh, and we will fight to our full capacity," he said.Within days, party made an
aggressive announcement - that it would contest all 80 seats in state
Indicating that they are taking UP run seriously, party today changed its top order in state
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was given charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, where lies Varanasi, constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's Gorakhpur.Western Uttar Pradesh has put under Jyotiraditya Scindia, close aide of Rahul Gandhi, who had a
big role to play in recently concluded elections in Madhya Pradesh.The party said Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's entrance to active politics from
said, "For fifteen twenty years people have been asking her to join politics This is a huge boost for Congress party".
