The failure of the Congress to improve its tally in the UP Assembly elections on his mind, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Monday indicated large-scale changes in the organisation within two months. He said he had all the information on the poll debacle and was in the middle of taking some strong decisions.

“The face of the organisation will change completely within two months. Those party members who worked honestly during the Assembly elections would be duly rewarded and those who worked against our candidates would be punished,” he was quoted as saying here on Monday during a meeting with the party workers at Singhpur under the Tiloi Assembly seat, which falls in Amethi, his own parliamentary constituency.

Monday’s meeting kicked off Rahul’s five-day tour of Amethi and Rae Bareli in his and Sonia Gandhi’s parliamentary constituency, the first time after the UP Assembly results. Tiloi and Jagdishpur were picked up for the first day with special focus on the Muslim community, and they were represented in large numbers at the Congress meetings on Monday.

Rahul’s programme managers had prepared a short list of speakers at the meeting, but on his arrival he announced that he wanted party workers to vent their problems and anger before him.

As most of the speakers proceeded to do so, criticising own leaders for being not only detached from grassroot workers but also trying to pull down each other, Rahul said: “Such people cannot be spared anymore. Just wait and watch.”

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