UP elections: Sonia, Manmohan, Rahul, Azad among Congress star campaigners for first-phase poll

New Delhi, Jan 24: Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former party president Rahul Gandhi, Kanhaiya Kumar and some of the G-23 members have been named in the list of 30 star campaigners for the first-phase assembly election in Uttar Pradesh.

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and former Rajya Sabha member Raj Babbar are among the G-23 leaders named as star campaigners.

The group of 23 Congress leaders had earlier raised questions on the functioning of the party and demanded an organisational overhaul.

Whereas former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot had revolted against its own government in the state led by Ashok Gehlot and now figures among the 30 star campaigners.

AICC general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel are also among the star campaigners.

The list includes state party chief Ajay Kumar Lallu, Congress Legislature Party leader in the assembly Aradhana Misra 'Mona', former union ministers Salman Khurshid and RPN Singh, and former Rajya Sabha members Pramod Tiwari and P L Punia. Party leaders Deepinder Singh Hooda, Supriya Shrinate, Imran Pratapgarhi and Kanhaiya Kumar are also among the 30 star campaigners of the Congress.

In the first of the seven phases, polling will be held in 58 assembly constituencies spread over 11 districts on February 10. The districts which are going to poll in the first phase are Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Mathura and Agra. The final-phase polling will be on March 7 and the results will be declared on March 10. PTI