Congress president Sonia Gandhi today kicked off her party’s poll campaign in eastern Uttar Pradesh accusing the NDA government at the Centre of being ‘‘incompetent and corrupt’’ and dubbing the BJP’s ‘feel-good factor’ as an ‘‘election gimmick and a hoax’’.‘‘The feel-good factor is nothing but an election gimmick and a hoax,’’ Sonia, who began a three-day tour of Gorakhpur and Basti, said addressing a meeting at Kauriram, about 30 km from here.Launching a scathing attack on the NDA government, Sonia alleged that it was ‘‘incompetent and corrupt’’. Claiming that ‘‘Congress alone can ensure development, safeguard unity and preserve democratic values,’’ she appealed to the people to support and vote for the party.The AICC president accused the successive non-Congress governments in Uttar Pradesh of being responsible for the present plight of the state which lagged behind other states in all sectors.Accompanied by senior leaders, including UPCC chief Jagadambika Pal, Sonia later went to Barhalganj and Deoria after taking rounds of Rudrapur and Kakraghat. On her way to Barhalganj, she stopped at several places and interacted with people and listened to their grievances. She was stopped at many places by party workers, who offered her bouquets and showered flowers.The roadshow is being viewed as an attempt to boost the party’s prospects in the state where it has lost considerable ground during the previous elections. A large number of people lined up on both sides of the road to have a glimpse of the Congress chief, who made it a point to stop wherever a crowd gathered.The Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee of Mohaddipur near here also felicitated Sonia when her entourage was passing through the area. Earlier in the day, she garlanded the statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at Padleyganj. She was also scheduled to garland a statue of former PM Indira Gandhi at Golghar but her programme was changed at the last minute owing to security considerations. After halting for the night at Padrauna, she is scheduled to visit Maharajganj, Siddharthanagar and Basti tomorrow.
