Sonia, Rahul to spearhead poll campaign in UP: Cong

New Delhi, Feb 7 (UNI) Congress President Sonia Gandhi, with her son Rahul Gandhi in tow, will resume next month the party's campaign for the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.

The decision was taken at a meeting Ms Gandhi held with UPCC chief Salman Khurshid, AICC General Secretary Ashok Gehlot, who is charge of the party affairs in the state, and Mr Rahul Gandhi, MP from Amethi.

Mr Gehlot said Ms Gandhi had begun an exercise to assess the situation in all the eight party zones in Uttar Pradesh and this would be completed in 15 days.

The party's prospects in two zones -- Meerut-Saharanpur and Jhansi-Chitrakoot -- were discussed at the meeting held last evening, he said.

The party would also finalise soon the detailed campaign programme for Ms Gandhi and Mr Rahul Gandhi.

Ms Gandhi had kicked off the party's campaign in Uttar Pradesh as early as August 2006 with a call for removing the government of Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.

This was followed up with another at Bareli, but there has been a lull in the party's activities in the state since then.

Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, which sends as many as 81 MPs to the Lok Sabha, are expected to be held some time in April-May.

UNI