Defiant Rahul Gandhi says will keep visiting villages in UP

Sonbhadra/Rae Barely, Feb 10 (ANI): A defiant Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi has said that he would continue to visit villages and the downtrodden despite being mocked by opposition parties during his election campaign in Uttar Pradesh.

Addressing a public meeting in Sonbhadra on Thursday, Gandhi said his aim is to understand the problems of those residing in the rural areas of the country.

"When I come to you all, they make fun of me saying that Rahul Gandhi has lost his mental balance. Why is he visiting the villages as there is nothing left there? When I visit the tribals, people in the opposition say that I have lost it questioning my meeting with the downtrodden often calling it a drama," said Gandhi.

"You and your village have power, knowledge and information. I come to you so that I can understand you and your problems," he added.

Gandhi further said the Congress Party aims to bring a wave of change in the state and does not believe in making tall promises like the other political parties.

"If you want to hear about promises then please go attend the public meetings of Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party. They are making promises in abundance, but we are not here to make promises," said Gandhi.

"We are here to change the condition of the state, help the tribals and poor other than making the youth aware," he added.

Meanwhile, the Congress Party's star campaigner and Rahul Gandhi's younger sibling Priyanka Gandhi hit out at Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Government in the state for betraying the people ever since it came to power.

Addressing a public meeting in Rae Barely, Priyanka said: "Politics of a certain kind has emerged in your state that has insulted you I say so because the objective of politics is to serve the public."

The campaigning in 59 assembly constituencies spread over nine districts of eastern region of Uttar Pradesh from Basti, Gorakhpur, Azamgarh and Varanasi divisions came to an end on Friday.

Polling in these constituencies will be held on Saturday. A total of 1,099 candidates are in the fray for this phase.

Over 62 percent voting was registered in the first phase of assembly elections for the 55 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday.

The polls in Uttar Pradesh are being viewed as an opportunity for major parties to re-establish their foothold in the country's fifth largest and most populous state.

The poll results will broadly indicate trends for the 2014 general elections. (ANI)