Amethi: Priyanka Gandhi on November 23 evaded a direct reply when requested by the people of the neighbouring Rae Bareli constituency to contest elections from there.

"Wait and see," she told a delegation from Rae Bareli led by district Congress chief Uma Shanker Misra when it requested her to represent the constituency nursed by her grandmother late Indira Gandhi for long.

On a whirlwind tour of different Assembly segments of the Amethi constituency represented by her mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, she enquired about the reasons behind the party's poor performance in the last Assembly elections.

For three hours, Priyanka met different Congress delegations and the locals in an effort to renew her contact and gauge their mood. She was told about the caste equations and the influence of the local raja Sanjay Singh, which affected the party's performance in the Assembly elections.

The Congress workers utilised this opportunity to also apprise her of the growing infighting in the party unit.

Before embarking on a tour of the Ram Daipur village, she distributed tri-cycles to the handicapped persons and also visited the patients at the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital.

Security personnel however, foiled the attempts of the people to meet at her at the hospital guest house.

Those who did get a chance to meet her handed over applications regarding lack of medical aid, bad roads or non-functional handpumps.

Meanwhile, Priyanka's visit has recharged local Congress leaders who are using this opportunity to reassert themselves in the state politics. "Her visit has evoked great interest in the people and if she decides to enter into politics, it would pave way for Congress to regain power at the Centre," a local party worker said.

PTI