Lucknow, April 11: UPA chairperson and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Thursday performed a 'hawan' (pooja) in Uttar Pradesh ahead of filing nomination from Raebareli constituency. According to a picture tweeted by ANI, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were also seen present with the UPA chairperson. Sonia Gandhi is trying to retain the Raebareli seat for the fifth time this year. Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha Elections 2019 Schedule: Constituency Wise Dates Of Voting And Results For UP General Elections.

According to reports, Sonia Gandhi will undertake a 700-metre road show before filing the nomination, party spokesman LKP Singh had informed. Polling for Raebareli seat will be held in the fifth-phase on May 6.

The seat will see a straight contest between Sonia Gandhi and Dinesh Pratap Singh, who had recently joined the BJP after leaving the Congress. The Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party have not fielded any candidate in this Congress bastion. Sonia Gandhi had won the seat in 2004, 2006 (bypolls), 2009 and 2014.

See Pics: Sonia Gandhi performs 'hawan' in Uttar Pradesh

Earlier in the day, Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Smriti Irani and her husband Zubin Irani were seen performing a 'hawan' (pooja) on ahead of filing her nomination from Amethi Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Irani faces a poll battle with Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who had filed his nomination papers on Wednesday.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 11, 2019 01:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).