Congress releases first list of 125 candidates for Uttar Pradesh polls; mother of Unnao rape victim among the names

“Our Unnao candidate is the mother of the gangrape victim. We have given her a chance to continue the struggle. The power which oppressed them and ruined their family, they should now get that power,"Vadra said.

Expelled Uttar Pradesh BJP legislator Kuldeep Singh Sengar, along with five others, were in December last year discharged in the Unnao rape survivor's rape accident case after a Delhi court found no evidence against him.

Also, read : Decoded | Priyanka Gandhi’s 40% quota for women candidates in UP polls 

The other candidates released by Vadra include, Ramraj Gond, who spearheaded the Gond tribals’ legal battle over land in Umbha village in Sonbhadrahe, Poonam Pandey, an Asha worker who was allegedly roughed up by the police while trying to meet Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Shahjahanpur in November last year and Congress leader Sadaf Jafar, who was in jail in connection with the anti-CAA stir in the state.

“Our list is giving a new message that is if you are harassed, you have the courage to fight. And the UP Congress is there to help you on the fight,” Vadra said after reading out the names of 50 women candidates.

The Congress party had announced in October that it will give 40 per cent tickets to women candidates in the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. The decision is seen as Congress party's move to woo women voters in Uttar Pradesh.

Vadra said that the decision has been taken considering that women will fully participate in Uttar Pradesh elections.

Also read: Congress down to three MLAs in Uttar Pradesh as resignation spree continues ahead of assembly polls

In 2017 assembly polls, eleven out of 114 Congress candidates were women. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had given tickets to 43 women in its list of 384 candidates while the  Samajwadi Party (SP) had given tickets to 33 women.  As many as 19 women were given tickets by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

The elections in Uttar Pradesh will be held in seven phases starting February 10. The counting of votes will be held on March 10.

The Congress, which has been reduced to a virtual non-player in Uttar Pradesh, has been facing series of defections recently and the party has been reduced to three legislators in the state. The party had won seven seats in the 2017 assembly elections.