New Delhi, July 01: The Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh are three years away but the state unit of the Congress which is already on a high after its electoral success in the state has started reorganising the party’s structure.
The Congress is giving serious thought on replacing the party’s district and block level units with Assembly and parliamentary level units. In other words, the party’s units will reflect the electoral boundaries rather than administrative borders.
During the review of the Lok Sabha results, the party found that at many places candidates complained lack of co-operation from party workers, who belonged to different districts but fell in the same Lok Sabha segment.
Those in-charge of Assembly seats, polling stations and polling booths have been asked to work on restructuring the party units.
For reorganising the party’s unit at Malihabad Assembly, a meeting was called on June 25 under the supervision of Congress MP from Barabanki, P L Punia. Two days later, state Congress Rita Bahuguna Joshi headed another meeting for restructuring the party’s unit of Lucknow West Assembly seat.
Sources in the party said that similar procedures are being adopted in all the Assembly seats that are going for by-polls and if the exercise turns out to be fruitful then it will be adopted in all the Assembly seats prior to the 2012 state polls.
At the same time, the party has also started holding meetings for constituencies of the next Assembly elections. This after the party learnt a lesson from the Lok Sabha elections when it was not able to begin preparations on many seats due to pending talks of alliance with the Samajwadi Party.
“Even though candidates have not been decided for the Assembly elections, we have to strengthen our structure in each seat so that party workers can work in coordination and there is no overlapping of responsibility,” a senior Congress leader said.
The Congress has also given the responsibility of overseeing the preparation works in each Assembly seat to either a Union minister or former MPs. The idea is if senior leaders are given responsibilities there will be less opposition to the changes made. While MoS for Petroleum and Natural Gas Jitin Prasada has been given the charge of Powayan Assembly seat, MoS for Road, Transport and Highway R P N Singh is looking after Padrauna Assembly constituency.
Similarly, MPs like Jagdambika Pal, P L Punia as well as ex-MP Rajesh Mishra and senior party leaders like Ranjit Singh Judeo, Begum Noor Bano have all been given charge of individual Assembly seats.
-Agencies