Weaker candidates will cut into BJP votes in UP, says Priyanka
new delhi — Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday said that the party’s strong candidates will win on their own while the weaker candidates will cut into the votes of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Speaking to party workers and supporters here, she said: “Now it is clear that our candidates are putting up a tough fight across the state. Where the candidates are strong they will win on their own. While where people feel that the candidates are weaker or carry less weight against their opponents... we have fielded such candidates so that they would eat into BJP votes.”
The Congress leader, who is also the in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, on Tuesday also held an interactive session with party workers and supporters in Amethi, which is represented by her elder brother and Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
Rahul Gandhi is pitted against Union Minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani, who is re-contesting from the Amethi seat.
The elections in Amethi are scheduled for May 6 in the fifth phase.
Meanwhile, in a dig at the Congress over Priyanka’s comments, the BJP said on Wednesday that the grand old party has become a
“vote katua” party. The BJP said these remarks of the Congress general secretary show that her party has accepted defeat.
“The Congress party is not contesting elections to win but to cut into votes of BJP. Today the grand old party has become a vote katua party,” BJP’s national spokesman Sambit Patra told a Press conference at the party office.
‘Vote katua’ is a term used for those whose votes may not result in their win but may tilt the electoral balance in the favour of one of the two main contestants.
There is also confusion about the Congress as to whether it is in the grand alliance or not, Patra said.
The Congress leader had told reporters in Amethi that her party is not at all cutting into votes of the SP-BSP-RLD alliance in Uttar Pradesh as it fielded candidates either with prospects of victory or having potential to damage BJP’s chances in the state.