Lucknow, Feb. 9: Sonia Gandhi today found out for herself how bleak eastern Uttar Pradesh is, at least politically.

Kicking off her tour of six eastern districts about a week after she campaigned in western Uttar Pradesh, the Congress chief saw for herself how difficult it is going to be for her party. The Congress has lost out heavily to regional players over the last decade, during which her party workers have become increasingly disoriented.

With a cool winter breeze blowing, Sonia launched her Kisan Chetna Yatra in Gorakhpur, trying to cash in on the anger of local farmers. Her motorcade rolled on to Azamgarh and Deoria, but met with a lukewarm response as few farmers turned up along the way.

The crowds mainly comprised Congress workers, who were treated to more anti-BJP rhetoric. They were not offered any solutions for the irrigation crisis, the fluctuating price of sugarcane and other local issues.

At Gorakhpur, Sonia dubbed the NDA government “corrupt and incompetent”. She attributed the suffering of those living in the region to “the successive non-Congress governments in the state”. Her speech at Deoria was along similar lines.

The Congress chief was at a loss when farmers asked why the party was supporting the Mulayam Singh Yadav government in the state, which has not done much for the people.