Other States - Uttar Pradesh

Congress to focus on U.P. affairs

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI MAY 30. The Congress leadership plans to soon carry out to its promise made at the AICC meeting on May 24 to devote more attention to the state of affairs in Uttar Pradesh. For starters, all the senior leaders of the party from the State are likely to be summoned to Delhi for a brainstorming session.

At the AICC meeting exactly a week ago, the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, responding to demands from the U.P. delegates, promised to devote more time and attention to the party affairs in her home State of U.P. "I realise the need to spend time and give more attention to the affairs in U.P., I promise to do that,'' she told the delegates.

A similar exercise was undertaken with regard to Andhra Pradesh last month. All the senior leaders from the State were asked to come down to the capital and confer with the AICC general secretary incharge of the State, Ambica Soni, and other party functionaries. The confabulations not only helped sort out the inter-personal problems, it also identified issues that the party should take up as well as the strategy to be adopted.

The Congress leadership has been concerned at the inability of the party to make an impression in a State that was once its pocket borough. Despite the AICC's extensive efforts, the party failed to make an impression during the Assembly elections earlier this year and managed to win only 27 of the 402 seats. The AICC leadership is aware that its showing in the parliament elections will to a large extent determine whether the Congress can make a bid for the Government at the Centre on its own.

The central leadership of the party has been toying with the idea of revamping the State unit and changing the UPCC chief, Sriprakash Jaiswal. The change was to have been made soon after the Assembly polls, but ultimately it was decided to wait for the culmination of the by-elections to the Assembly. Though several names have been considered, including the feasibility of sending back the former chief, Salman Khursheed, a final decision has still not been made.

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