Uttar Pradesh polls: Congress asks ticket aspirants to pay ₹11,000 along with application

In a controversial move, Congress asked the Uttar Pradesh Assembly poll ticket aspirants to pay Rs.11,000 while submitting their application. This was revealed in a letter written by UP Congress president Ajay Kumar Lallu on September 14. Lallu has mentioned that the district and city Congress committee chiefs have been authorized to collect the said applications at the district headquarters while Sanjay Sharma and Vijay Bahadur will be in charge of the process at the state level.

The money has to be paid via RTGS, money order, or demand draft and the applicants will get a receipt for the same. While the ticket aspirants can submit their applications till September 25, the Sonia Gandhi-led party has not given any information on whether the money will be refunded in case an applicant doesn't get the poll ticket. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra faces an uphill task of reviving the party in UP where it won only 7 seats in the 2017 Assembly polls. 

Congress' thrust on UP polls

In the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, BJP won a whopping 312 seats in the 403-member House, whereas BSP could win only 19 seats. On the other hand, the SP-Congress alliance failed to bear fruit as it could win in only 54 constituencies. While this was seen as a mandate for PM Modi as BJP had not declared any CM candidate, Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath was a surprise pick for the post. Addressing the media on September 12, senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid indicated that the party may not project Vadra as the CM face before the election.

Revealing that Congress will contest all 403 seats in the state, he added, "The party will not form an alliance with any party. We will contest the elections with firm belief. Party workers will go to each constituency to know the problems being faced by the local people". To bolster its chances, Congress has decided to embark on a 12,000 km-long yatra 'Hum Vachan Nibhayenge Pratigya' (we will fulfill our promises) Yatra across the state. As a part of this mass outreach initiative, this Yatra will cover major villages and towns.

During her tour of Uttar Pradesh ahead of the Assembly polls, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is facing increasing calls to contest the election. While Congress has confirmed that it will contest the 2022 UP election under her leadership, she has not yet fought an election at the state or the national level. As per sources, Congress workers told her that she should contest the polls from any seat in Rae Bareli, a constituency won by the late PM Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.