Congress seeks people's mandate in UP polls

New Delhi: Congress party spokesperson Manish Tiwari has sought the people's mandate in the upcoming polls in Uttar Pradesh.

Addressing a news conference here, Tiwari said,"The Congress is going into the elections in Uttar Pradesh with the objective of getting the support of the people to form a government."

"We have presented ourselves as an alternative to the political forces, which are ruling Uttar Pradesh or which have ruled Uttar Pradesh in the past. And we are confident that with the support of the people, we would be in a position to get a mandate which can lead to the development of Uttar Pradesh," he added.

Tiwari also said that the party's objective is to form government in not just Uttar Pradesh but also the other four states where elections are being held.

"The Congress is in this electoral fight whether it is Uttar Pradesh, whether it is Punjab, Uttaranchal, or Goa, which are going to the polls with the intent of forming a government in each of these states," he said.

Uttar Pradesh is politically important, as it sends a large number of lawmakers to the Parliament in New Delhi.

Talking about Punjab, Tiwari said the coalition of the regional Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are ruining the system in the state.

"Over the last five years, The Akali Dal-BJP government in Punjab has flagrantly transgressed and overstepped every constitutional norm, every cannon of propriety and they have hijacked a political system and converted it into a family affair to blunder the resources of the state. So I don't think it lies in the mouth in the leadership of the Akali Dal or the BJP to be lecturing the Election Commission about what is constitutional propriety and what is not," said Tiwari.

Voting in Uttar Pradesh will be held in seven phases starting February 4th and finishing on February 28th.

Four other states, including Punjab, will hold elections between January 28th and March 3rd. The results of the elections would be declared on March 4th.