Congress fielded 50 women, including the mother of the Unnao rape victim

- Congress announces first list of 125 candidates

- Grand Masti fame actress Archana Gautam from Hastinapur, Salman Khurshid's wife will fight from Farrukhabad

Lucknow: The Congress on Thursday announced the first list of 16 candidates, including 20 women, for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Congress has fielded Asha Singh, mother of Unnao rape victim, in Unnao assembly constituency. The Congress has also given tickets to Bollywood actress Archana Gautam.

In the list of 18 candidates announced by the Congress, 60 per cent tickets have been given to women. Announcing the list of candidates at an online press conference, Uttar Pradesh General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that 70 per cent of the Congress candidates are women and the other 50 per cent are youth. In this way the party has made a new historic start by giving tickets to the youth and women.

The mother of the rape victim has been given a ticket at the Unnao Sadar seat. Former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sanger is in jail in connection with the controversial Unnao rape case. Actress Archana Gautam, who was seen in Grand Masti from Hastinapur in Meerut, has been fielded. Archana Gautam is also known as Bikini Girl in Southern films. Farrukhabad has fielded Louis Khurshid, a senior party leader and wife of former Union Minister Salman Khurshid.

Aradhana Mishra Mona, daughter of Pramod Tiwari, Asha worker Poonam Pandey from Shahjahanpur and Pankhudi Pathak from Noida have been allotted tickets from Rampur special seat of Pratapgarh district. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the party has fielded a candidate who has fought hard for justice in Uttar Pradesh and the party wants him to fight on the front lines to be a part of power in the state. Among the women candidates in the Congress are some journalists, an actress, a social worker and a struggling woman. In Uttar Pradesh, party spokesperson and anti-CAA activist Sadaf Jaffer has been fielded from the Lucknow Central constituency.