Priyanka may take charge of UP Congress unit

The Asian Age.

India, Politics

The sources added that Ajay Kumar Lallu and Pramod Tiwari were among the frontrunners for the position of Uttar Pradesh PCC chief.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

New Delhi: Final touches are being put on the complete overhall of the Uttar Pradesh unit of the Congress with Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra likely to take over as the General Secretary in-charge of the entire state.

The new team which would be much smaller than the previous one would be announced sometime next week, sources told The Asian Age.

The sources added that Ajay Kumar Lallu and Pramod Tiwari were among the frontrunners for the position of Uttar Pradesh PCC chief. They will replace Raj Babbar who was appointed before the 2017 UP Assembly polls.

Ms Gandhi-Vadra, who was appointed General Secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh (East) barely two months before the Lok Sabha elections, has been meeting party workers at all levels.

On Sunday and Tuesday, she met former Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly and is likely to hold more meetings in the next 3-4 days.

This time the committee would be 10 times smaller than the earlier team. The average age of the committee would be around 40 years. Equal representation would be given to women and backward castes, a senior leader from Uttar Pradesh said.

The Congress had dissolved all district units after the Lok Sabha polls debacle.

Ms Gandhi-Vadra, who turned down requests from the party to take over as Congress president, after her brother Rahul Gandhi quit taking responsibility for the Lok Sabha polls defeat, has been more active over the last three months. She has been tweeting and making public comments on myriad issues.

She also travelled to Sonebhadra where 10 members of a Dalit community were shot down. After the Uttar Pradesh government prevented her from meeting them, she sat on a dharna at the local guest house making a big political spectacle.

Meanwhile, the Congress party also announced five candidates for bypolls to be held in the state.

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