New Delhi: After weeks of dawdling, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will attend the first election rally in Uttar Pradesh on Friday when Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi launches a poll campaign in the family pocket borough of Raebareli.


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Congress sources said Rahul will address two rallies in Raebareli town and Maharajganj in support of party candidate Aditi Singh.


The sources said Priyanka will accompany Rahul to these rallies in Raebareli Assembly constituency today. However, it was not clear whether she will address the rallies.


Congress president Sonia Gandhi represents Raebareli in the Lok Sabha, while Rahul is MP from neighbouring Amethi.


Sonia has stayed away from the poll campaign so far.


The sources said she might address rallies in the constituency on February 18.


The absence of Priyanka, who is a great crowd puller and is among the 40 'star campaigners' the party has listed for the polls, had reportedly upset the cadres, specially in the family bastion of Amethi-Raebareli, where she has been campaigning in previous elections.Amethi-Raebareli, where she has been campaigning in previous elections.


Assembly constituencies under Amethi and Raebareli go to polls in the 4th and 5th phase of polling in the state on February 23 and 27.


Alliance partners Congress and Samajwadi Party are fighting with each other on several Assembly seats where both parties have fielded their candidates.


The sources said the alliance partners are fighting a "friendly" match in 23 constituencies, including two in Raebareli and two in Amethi, the bastions of the Gandhis.


News agency IANS has quoted informed sources as saying that many campaign programmes of Priyanka Vadra had been made and cancelled in the past owing to the seat-sharing formula on these seats continuing to be an irritant.


Notably, Priyanka was one of the main negotiators with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav when the alliance talks were on the brink of collapse.


Congress has fielded Aditi Singh, the daughter of five-time MLA Akhilesh Kumar Singh, from the Raebareli Assembly constituency.


 


Akhilesh Singh, a local strongman, has passed on the baton to his 29-year-old daughter Aditi, who is pitted against BSP candidate Shahbaz Khan and BJP's Anita Srivastava.


In Unchahar in Raebareli district, Congress has fielded Ajaypal Singh and SP Manoj Kumar Pandey, besides in Sareni where Ashok Singh (Congress) is fighting a "friendly match" with Devendra Pratap Singh of SP. Both seats fall under Sonia's Lok Sabha constituency.


Congress will be contesting in a total of 105 seats in UP, with its ally Samajwadi Party contesting from 298 out of a total of 403 seats.


(With Agency inputs)