NEW DELHI: Congress general secretary for eastern Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is likely to be handed over the reins of the party’s entire state unit. Currently, the post of UP Congress chief is held by Raj Babbar.Sources said the process for the change of guard for UP has been on cards for the past three months during which the Grand Old Party has been undertaking a major overhaul after the drubbing it received in the Lok Sabha polls.
As part of the overhaul, sources said, Priyanka has met over 10,000 party workers. According to sources, she has been meeting party workers and senior leaders from eastern and western UP for around 11 hours on a daily basis.
Uttar Pradesh will go to polls in 2022 and the Congress needs to regroup at the grassroots level. The party managed to win just one seat — Rae Bareli — in the state the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year. While Sonia Gandhi won from Rae Bareli, even Rahul Gandhi lost from the family bastion of Amethi.
Weeks ahead of the 2019 polls, Priyanka made her debut in active politics and was appointed as general secretary of eastern UP while Jyotiraditya Scindia was appointed in-charge of western UP.
‘Historic slowdown’
Priyanka on Tuesday attacked the government over the state of the economy. “Telling a lie a hundred times does not turn it into truth. The BJP government should accept that there is a historic slowdown in the economy and should move towards taking measures to resolve it,” she tweeted. “Till when will the government keep running with headline management,” she tweeted.