The Congress has tallied its immediate political ambitions in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh with a vision statement for changing the face of the state - the stated mission of party general secretary Rahul Gandhi. The party will release a Vision 2020 document that will lay down the roadmap for the state's development in the next eight years.
"Give us five years. We changed Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Mizoram, Assam and Kerala. We can change UP too," has been Gandhi's poll pitch across the state. "In the next 10 years, people will start coming to see what's happening in UP."
The document is likely to be released simultaneously from 10 places across UP next week. The party is also giving final touches to its UP manifesto.
It is for the first time that the Congress will be releasing a state-specific vision document. Out of power in the state since 1989, the party is trying hard to regain ground. The party did make a partial comeback in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections when it won 22 seats.
Gandhi's election war cry -- awake, rise and change UP - is the central point of the document that will also promise justice for all, ensuring rights of all and overall development of the state.
Sources in the Congress said the document would list the party's priority areas such as health, employment, education, industry, power and infrastructure.
{{/usCountry}}Sources in the Congress said the document would list the party's priority areas such as health, employment, education, industry, power and infrastructure.
{{/usCountry}}To check atrocities on women, the party is also promising more all-women police stations across the state and a possible change in existing laws.
To address the unemployment problem, the party is pledging to set up across the state about 1,000 skill development centres that will provide jobs to around 2 million people.
Being a report card on all the state governments in the past 22 years, the document will specify reasons why UP needs a change and seek votes against the BSP, SP and BJP.