Rahul to revamp Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee, ask top leaders to maintain discipline

07 April, 2012

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi took a two-day class of his party candidates who were in the fray in Uttar Pradesh assembly polls and got over 20,000 votes. He sought answers for the poll debacle in UP.

IN ORDER to find out the reasons behind the Congress poor show in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections despite presence of seasoned and senior leaders at the ground level, Congress ‘Yuvraj’ Rahul Gandhi convened a two-day meet of Congress candidates in Delhi to ascertain where the party failed in its strategy. The meet which concluded on April 6 gave Rahul Gandhi the real picture of the party’s position in the state, and where the organisation needs to be strengthened.

The candidates told Rahul Gandhi that the party lost polls because of the irrelevant and controversial statements that kept coming from the top leaders who were given charge for the party’s canvassing in Uttar Pradesh.

Rahul Gandhi has given a hint to revamp the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee in times to come and tough steps will be taken to stem the rot in the wake of the assembly debacle. The candidates also made their complaint to Rahul Gandhi that many senior leaders sitting in Delhi don’t meet party workers and they also never visit their constituency in order to get a first hand information about the latest developments going on at the grassroot level.

"Those who have stayed connected with the people of their area and did work honestly in their constituency emerged as winners. There is a need to make a right approach and strategy to win in the elections,” said Gandhi.

The performance of Congress party was far from satisfactory in these elections as it managed to get just 28 seats out of 403 assembly seats. For a national party like the Congress, and with the presence of members from the Gandhi family and support from the Central government, which offered the sops for weavers and small farmers in order to consolidate their votes in eastern Uttar Pradesh, then the Muslim reservation card - all went in vain for the party as their top leaders continued to spoil the game plan for the party with their theatrics and irresponsible statements that annoyed both the Muslims and the OBC over the Muslim quota card. This deprived the Congress of Muslim votes and the angry OBC also turned their loyalty to Samajwadi Party in the state which came to power with a thundering majority.

Now with the Lok Sabha polls coming ahead in 2014, it will be a big task and challenge for the Congress general secretary, Rahul Gandhi, to make drastic changes in the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) and to promote real workers who are sweating it out for the party. It is time to sideline sycophants in the party, and give more facilities to the workers at the ground level.

Besides senior leaders must be told to remain cautious while issuing statements during the polls as that adversely affect party’s prospects as happened in the recently concluded assembly elections.

Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president Dr Rita Bahuguna Joshi who was also present on the occasion, said she has offered her resignation from the post. She said the party workers and state leaders would sit together to assess the situation and to find the shortcomings where the party failed in drawing its strategy. Dr Joshi had won her seat from the Lucknow Cantt which was supposed to be a stronghold of the saffron party.