Sonia Gandhi cuts short Varanasi roadshow due to high fever
Congress chief ministerial candidate Sheila Dikshit, state unit chief Raj Babbar, Congress' state in-charge Ghulam Nabi Azad and senior party leaders attended the road show
Varanasi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi kicked off her poll campaign for Uttar Pradesh from Varanasi on Tuesday by holding a roadshow.
This was her first visit to Varanasi since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Her choice of Varanasi to hold a roadshow for the party is significant, given that it is the Lok Sabha constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
She had to cut short her roadshow after more than three hours towards the end because she fell ill, following which her planned visit to the Kashi Vishwanath temple had to be cancelled.
According to a report by the Press Trust of India, Gandhi was nursing a viral fever.
In a post on Twitter, Modi wished her “quick recovery and good health."
Gandhi started the roadshow by garlanding a statue of B.R. Ambedkar. She led a nearly 8-kilometer march, initially walking with party supporters and later on boarding a vehicle with an open sunroof.
The party’s chief ministerial candidate Sheila Dikshit, state unit chief Raj Babbar, leader of the opposition, and Congress’ state in-charge Ghulam Nabi Azad and senior party leaders attended the road show.
Earlier in the day, Babbar said he was hopeful a “miracle" will work in favour of the party.
“The people of Uttar Pradesh have always been springing surprises—be it 2004, 2007, 2012 or 2017—this time they are going to do a miracle in favour of Congress," he said before the roadshow.
Congress has been out of power in the state for nearly three decades now.
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