Anti-CAA activist, mother of Unnao rape victim on UP Congress' first list
New Delhi, January 13
The mother of Unnao rape victim Asha Singh, anti-Citizenship Amendment Act activist Sadaf Jafar and Sonbhadra’s tribal leader Ram Raj Gond have made it to the first list of 125 candidates the Congress announced on Thursday.
The list has 50 women (40 per cent of the total) as earlier promised by AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who herself evaded queries on whether she would contest the upcoming elections. Priyanka, however, said she would continue to work in UP even after the elections and contribute to other states as well, should the party ask her to.
The candidate list, she said, sends out the message “that the Congress will support those fighting against injustice. It will help them enter electoral politics and take power into their own hands to bring their struggles to fruition.” She also said the Congress wanted to herald a “new kind of politics in UP”, the politics of positive agenda and people’s issues.
“We need to steer the politics of UP and the country into a more positive direction, and on the issues that concern the people. Look at the level of our health spending, our education expenditure. It is much easier to mobilise people on hate. It is difficult to mobilise them on positive agendas. We need constructive discussions and I am happy to be a part of that dialogue,” Priyanka said, adding that the Congress’ decision to field women was not aimed at creating new vote banks. “Women are 50 per cent of our population and have every right to contest elections,” she said, adding that the Congress would support “other parties post elections” to keep the BJP out of power in UP.
The Congress list includes several people seen protesting against the UP Government in recent years. It includes Unnao rape victim’s mother Asha Singh (fielded from Unnao); anti-CAA and NRC activist Sadaf Jafar (Lucknow Central); Raj Ram Gond (Obra) of Sonbhadra, where 11 tribals were killed in 2019 clashes over a piece of land.
Also on the list is ASHA worker Poonam Pandey, who has been demanding a raise in the remuneration of the community health workers. She will contest from Shahjahanpur.
Alpana Nishad, who has been actively articulating the issues of UP’s boatmen, has been fielded from Allahabad South and Ritu Singh, who was allegedly assaulted by BJP workers when she went to file her nomination for a block president’s election in UP, will fight from Mohammadi.
