Elections 2019: Priyanka Gandhi's Varanasi roadshow gathers crowds

Priyanka Gandhi rally. Pic/PTI

Varanasi: In a big show of strength in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra held a roadshow on Wednesday evening.

Priyanka Gandhi began the roadshow, which had a route similar to Modi's jamboree last month, by garlanding the statue of Madan Mohan Malviya at the gates of the Banaras Hindu University. Modi had held a roadshow on April 25, a day before he filed his nomination papers.

Priyanka Gandhi was accompanied by Congress's Varanasi candidate Ajay Rai, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, senior party leader Rajiv Shukla and Savitri Bai Phoole -- who recently joined the party after leaving the BJP.

Priyanka Gandhi, who was dressed in a red saree, and the other leaders waved at the large crowd which had gathered on both sides of the roads as the procession wound its way through the temple town.

The local unit of the Congress had made elaborate arrangements to pull in the crowds for the roadshow, a party leader said. While some onlookers compared her roadshow with that of Modi's, Congress workers raised slogans against the prime minister.

Like Modi's jamboree, Priyanka Gandhi's roadshow also passed through all prominent places such as Assi Ghat, Lanka, Gadoliya and ended at Dashashwamedh Ghat.

Thereafter, Priyanka Gandhi offered prayers at the Kanshi Vishwanath temple and met saints in the town.

Later, she also visited the Kaal Bhairav temple in Kotwali area. This was Priyanka Gandhi's second visit to Varanasi since she was appointed Congress general secretary and in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh.

She alleged that people fighting for their rights were put behind bars on charges of being anti-national and were subjected to atrocities.

Addressing an election rally in Deoria in support of Congress' Salempur candidate Rajesh Mishra, Priyanka claimed that no development works were carried out in Varanasi, the constituency represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

She drew a quick comparison between the work done in Amethi by her father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and that by Modi in his Varanasi constituency.

She had last visited Varanasi in March for her 'Ganga Yatra' when she undertook a boat ride from Balua Ghat Ramnagar to Dashashwamedh Ghat.

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Edited by mid-day online desk with inputs from Agencies