Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is all set to begin a mega three-day boat ride in the river Ganges from Prayagraj today!

PRAYAGRAJ: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is leading the preparations and campaigning for the Congress in eastern Uttar Pradesh ahead of the national election, is set to begin a mega three-day boat ride in the river Ganges from Prayagraj today. The 47-year-old’s last stop will be Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency.

She will cover a stretch 140 kilometres.

On her boat ride, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will make pit-stops and interact with people who live by the river and seek support for the party for the Lok Sabha polls. Many of these communities come under the other backward castes or scheduled castes groupings and together, they make up a significant chunk of voters.

Ms Gandhi, who entered active politics in January after years of speculation, said she would contact people using various means of transportation, including waterways, buses, train and padayatra (on foot). “River Ganga is a symbol of truth and equality. It is also a symbol of our Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb (Ganga-Yamuna culture). It does not differentiate among people. Ganga-ji is the lifeline of Uttar Pradesh and with her support I will reach you,” she wrote in an open letter to the people of Uttar Pradesh.

A host of all visits to temples and dargahs are also planned along the route where her steamer would make stops.

Priyanka Gandhi is mainly expected to give focus on campaigning against the BJP government’s claim of having cleaned up the Ganges through her motor bride and interactions.

She will also meet the family of CRPF soldier Mahesh Raj Yadav who lost his life in the Pulwama terror attack.
On Wednesday, she will visit the ancestral house of former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri in Varanasi.

Priyanka Gandhi met with party workers in Lucknow on Sunday and spent the night at Swaraj Bhawan in Prayagraj where her grandmother, former prime minister Indira Gandhi was born.

She will end her trip in Varanasi on Wednesday, a day before the festival of Holi. Her itinerary in the holy city includes visits to temples, interactions with weavers, and also a ‘Holi Milan’ programme.

This is her second visit to Uttar Pradesh after being appointed the party’s general secretary.

There have been many questions on the Congress’s handling of a politically crucial state like Uttar Pradesh, which sends the most number of lawmakers to parliament.