UP election: Actor-model Archana Gautam, now Congress candidate, has a request
Photographs of Archana Gautam in bikini went viral on social media after Congress fielded her from Hastinapur constituency of Meerut district.
Actor-model Archana Gautam urged people to not merge her profession in the media industry with her political career after Congress fielded her from Hastinapur constituency for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Congress released its first list of 125 candidates for the assembly elections, which included 50 women candidates as part of its ‘Ladki hoon Lak Sakti hun’ campaign. Following the announcement, bikini pictures of beauty pageant winner Archana Gautam, who joined Congress in November 2021, went viral on social media.
"I represented India in Miss Bikini 2018. I was Miss Uttar Pradesh 2014 and Miss Cosmo World 2018. I request people to not merge my profession in the media industry with my political career," Gautam told news agency ANI.
Gautam said that her main focus will be on the development work of Hastinapur and the promotion of tourism if she gets elected to the Assembly. Hastinapur has a historical significance that dates back to the Mahabharata period. According to the Sanskrit epic, Hastinapur was the capital of Pandavas during the time of Mahabharata.
"Hastinapur is a tourist place and there are lots of ancient temples but people are not able to come here because of the connectivity. The first thing as an MLA I will do that I will build a bus stand and railway station for connectivity. Because when tourism will increase here then people will get employment," she said.
"Every year because of flood crops are damaged so I will work for that. I will take this matter to the state assembly. There is only one sugar mill here and because of which farmers face a lot of problems. So to save their time I will open more sugar mills," she added.
For the UP polls, Congress has also fielded Asha Singh, mother of the Unnao rape victim, and Asha worker Poonam Pandey who led agitation for a raise in honorarium. Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid's wife Louise Khurshid has also been given a ticket.
The seven-phase election in Uttar Pradesh will be held on February 10, 14, 20, 23, 27 and March 3 and 7. The counting of votes will take place on March 10.
(With ANI inputs)