To revive base in Rae Bareli, Cong to interview members

Jolted by a washout in Rae Bareli in the last Assembly elections, the Congress is in the process of restructuring its machinery in the Nehru-Gandhi family pocket borough.

Interviews are being conducted to select candidates for district and panchayat Congress committees. The selection committee comprising DCC president, city Congress chief and PCC members from the district has been allotted 35 marks in toto and individual scores of candidates will be sent to the high command who will then shortlist the successful candidates, sources said.

As the restructuring in Rae Bareli Congress is underway, Amethi MP Rahul Gandhi will pay a two-day visit to his constituency on September 13-14. Compared to the debacle in all the five seats in Rae Bareli, the Congress did better in Amethi, winning two out of five seats.

While Rahul is learnt to be gathering feedback "from the field" to ascertain the reasons for the party's below par show in Amethi, the focus is apparently on Rae Bareli where Priyanka Vadra is said to be taking keen interest in organisational overhaul.

The format of the interview of the prospective office-bearers in Rae Bareli comprises questions on to how to strengthen the party and how to motivate people, said sources.

Rae Bareli DCC president Uma Shankar Mishra, who has been holding the post for over a decade, is likely to be replaced, said sources. Once the new DCC and panchayat committees are in place, Priyanka will hold a workers' meeting. Incidentally, in the run up to the Assembly elections in 2007, Rahul had also conducted similar interviews of candidates aspiring for party tickets.

Rahul's visit to his constituency will be the second one since the Congress's debacle in UP Assembly elections last March. With the appointment of the new state chief, Nirmal Khatri, the Congress is in the process of restructuring the state unit and there are plans to divide the state into over half-dozen zones for organisational purposes, each headed by a prominent leader.

ALSO READ

Two Congress leaders at home, each as confident as the other

Salman Khurshid behind US airport detention: Azam Khan

Former mayor to file PIL against Mamata's 'smoke more' remark

Exit BJP's Reddy brothers, enter Cong's own miner