The Congress has given tickets to 40 per cent women and has sought votes for the empowerment of the fairer gender in the state. The party on Sunday released its fourth list of 61 candidates, including 24 women for the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh to be held in seven phases.

 

So far the party has given tickets to 127 women in the state. In the first list of 125 candidates, 50 are women; the second list of 41 has 16 women; and in the third list of 89 candidates, 37 are women.

 

The fourth list includes candidates from Rae Bareli and Amethi. From Harchandpur, Surender Vikram Singh has been given a ticket and from Sareni, Sudha Dwivedi has been fielded. Both seats are in Rae Bareli. In Amethi from Gauriganj, Mohd Fateh Bahadur is being fielded.

 

The other candidates who are in the fray are -- from Hathras, Kuldeep Kumar Singh; from Kasganj, Kuldeep Pandey; from Kishni (SC) Dr Vinay Narayan Singh; from Bisalpur, Shikha Pandey.

 

During the release of the first list, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had said the party is fulfilling its promise of giving 40 per cent tickets to women candidates.

 

In the first list she said women have been chosen from diverse backgrounds. These include the mother of Unnao Rape Survivor; Poonam Pandey, an Asha Worker; Nida Ahmed, a journalist; and social activist Sadaf Jafar from Lucknow who was at the forefront of anti-CAA protests.