Vadra is scheduled to address a public meeting besides interacting with women and holding a roadshow at various places in the state, as per the itinerary shared by the Congress here on Monday.<\/p>\n
Priyanka is among the 40-star campaigners of the Congress for the upcoming Assembly polls. Elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly will be held on May 10. The results will be declared on May 13. The Opposition Congress is expecting to return to power. The BJP is optimistic that it will retain power.<\/p>\n
DK Shivakumar, president of the Karnataka Congress unit, who was in Delhi on Monday, said Priyanka has agreed to campaign next year. \u201cWe requested her to spend time ahead of the assembly polls and she has agreed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The move comes amid speculation that some functionaries, including Shivakumar, want Priyanka to contest the June 10 Rajya Sabha polls from the state. They feel it will benefit the party in the assembly elections.<\/p>\n
They feel she has inherited the crowd-puller appeal of her grandmother and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who contested the Lok Sabha by-poll from Chikkamagaluru in 1978. Functionaries say her campaign could help regain Congress\u2019 lost vote banks and tap into Indira\u2019s long-standing goodwill in the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is also expected to make an impact on younger and female voters, who make up a significant percentage of the state\u2019s urban electorate, as she proved in the recent UP assembly polls,\u201d said one functionary. In 1999, Priyanka had campaigned for mother Sonia Gandhi, who contested the Ballari Lok Sabha seat against BJP\u2019s Sushma Swaraj. Sonia won by 56,000 votes in a tight contest.<\/p>\n
When asked about the possibility of Priyanka contesting the Rajya Sabha elections from Karnataka, Shivakumar responded by saying that while everyone would like their leader to visit their state, no discussions have taken place yet. As for the candidacy of former minister SR Patil, Shivakumar stated that it’s up to the party’s high command to decide. He mentioned that during the Chintan Shivir in Jaipur, it was decided to give new faces a chance at all levels. Therefore, the party leadership will carefully consider all aspects before making a decision.<\/p>\n