UP Election 2022: Unnao rape victim's mother is Congress candidate, Priyanka releases first list

Mother of a rape victim, a community health worker, 40% women, 40% youth. That's Congress first list of 125 candidates for upcoming UP elections.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday released the party's first list candidates.

The party has fielded Unnao rape victim's mother Asha Singh from the Unnao Assembly constituency. From Shahjahanpur, the Congress has fielded ASHA worker Poonam Pandey.

Addressing a press conference, Priyanka said 40 per cent of the Congress candidates are women and another 40 percent are youth and by doing so the party is making a new and historic beginning.

She said the party has decided to field candidates who have struggled for seeking justice in Uttar Pradesh and the Congress wants them to come to the forefront and be a part of power in the state.

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Asha Singh's 19-year-old daughter was raped in Unnao in 2017. Former BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar was convicted and jailed for life for the girl's rape.

"With 40 percent women and 40 percent youth, we hope to start a new kind of politics in Uttar Pradesh,"she said.

"Our list gives a new message. We want to tell those who have struggled for their rights and for seeking justice in the past, that they have the power to fight for their rights and the Congress party will give that power to them to be a part of power in the state," Vadra also said.

The AICC general secretary in-charge for Uttar Pradesh did not answer whether she will contest the elections herself.