Congress Gears up for UP Panchayat Polls, Sets-up 13-Member Committee in Bid to Strengthen Party Roots

Lucknow: After a major overhaul of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee, the party in a bid to strengthen its roots in the state, has constituted a 13-member committee to prepare its workers for the upcoming Panchayat elections of 2020.

The work of the committee will be further divided into different zones, divisions and districts. Speaking to media on the issue, UPCC Chief, Ajay Kumar Lallu said, “Under the tutelage of Priyanka Gandhi, a 13-member committee has been set up for the preparation, candidate selection for the Panchayat Polls.”

The Congress party has been out of power in the state since 1989. However, after party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi took charge, it is believed that a resurgence may be in the offing – marked by a substantial rise in the number of protests organized by the party against the government on various law and order issues in the state.

Speaking to News18 on the issue, Senior Congress leader and media in-charge of UP Congress, Rajiv Tyagi said, "We are gearing up for the Panchayat Polls. The Congress will raise farmers’ issues which have been pending for long time in the state. We will also tell people in rural area about the development works we have done in the past for the farmers and villages.”

Imposing his faith in Priyanka Gandhi, the Congress leader added, “Priyanka Gandhi has been persistently raising her voice against issues related to the people of Uttar Pradesh, from Shahjahanpur and Umbha case, to Unnao or the DHFL case. This will strengthen our booth level workers”

Interestingly, the panchayat polls that are held in the rural sectors are not contested on the party lines or party symbols. However, the political parties ascertain their performance on the basis of victory or loss of the candidates they had supported.

During the 2015 elections, the Congress had contested on around 1500 out of 3112 Panchayat seats in the state and had managed to bag merely 50-80 seats. The biggest setback came from Amethi and Raebareli which once used to be the party’s stronghold.