Sonia, Priyanka to visit Rae Bareli

Over six months after her visit to Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, Congress interim Chief Sonia Gandhi will be visiting her parliamentary constituency for two days from Wednesday, party sources said.

Sonia will be visiting Rae Bareli along with her daughter and party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. During her visit, Sonia will hold discussions with party leaders at the Buhemau guest house.

Party leaders said the mother-daughter will also hold a workshop for party workers, including district and city presidents of the state. The party is likely to discuss Congress' preparedness for the panchayat elections slated later this year.

A party source said the main discussion will be on ideology and the party's strategy to deal with the BJP's false narrative about the grand old party. The Congress after a long time is likely to contest all seats in the panchayat polls in the state.

Rae Bareli with Sonia Gandhi as the candidate was the only seat the party won in the 2019 general election from Uttar Pradesh which has 80 parliamentary seats. The other family bastion of Amethi from where Rahul Gandhi contested went to the BJP's Smriti Irani.

Sonia Gandhi had last visited Rae Bareli June 12-13 to thank the voters for re-electing her from the Lok Sabha seat along with her daughter Priyanka Gandhi.

During their visit to Rae Bareli, Priyanka Gandhi had done some plain-speak. "I did not want to make any speech here, but since I have been made to speak, let me speak the truth. The truth is that this election was won with the help of Sonia Gandhi and the people of Rae Bareli," Priyanka had said.

"I will find out the names of local leaders who did not work for the party in the (general) elections," Priyanka had said.IANS