Rahul attends 1st meet of Cong co-ordination commt

Lucknow, Nov 12: Amidst speculations of a mid-term Lok Sabha elections, AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi today reached the Uttar Pradesh capital to attend the maiden meeting of the state Congress co-ordination committee.

After taking the customary salute from Sewa Dal activists at the UPCC headquarters here, Rahul attended the meeting of the 22-member co-ordination committee where the discussion primarily focused on improving the grass-roots organisation. With the AICC recently blaming poor UP Congress organisation for the party's debacle in the April-May assembly elections and removal of Salman Khurshid as the UPCC president, the discussion was likely to primarily revolve around improving organisational structure, senior leaders said today.

While the meeting was on, there were also indications that the co-ordination committee would also discuss a strategy to attack the BSP government on its ''day-to-day policies affecting the common man.'' Rahul has been included in the party's 22-member co-ordination committee on Uttar Pradesh constituted by party President Sonia Gandhi.

Leaders said with Congress ready with a game plan to target the Mayawati government on several issues relating to day-to-day governance, Rahul's visit would re-energise the sagging morale of party workers.

After attending a session of the newly-formed co-ordination committee, Rahul would interact with over 18 delegations comprising leaders of frontal organisations, ex MPs and MLAs and leaders from the SC/ST and minority cells, said UPCC chief spokesperson Akhilesh Pratap Singh.

The committee is headed by UPCC Chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi and has among its members AICC General Secretaries Mohsina Kidwai and Janardan Dwivedi as also Union Minister Mahavir Prasad, former chief minister Ram Naresh Yadav and several former PCC presidents, including Salman Khursheed, who is a special invitee.

AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh, who is in-charge of Congress affairs in UP, earlier this week interacted with UPCC office-bearers ahead of Rahul's visit.

Other members include Union Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal, former PCC chief Arun Kumar Singh Munna and Jagdambika Pal, former CLP leader Pramod Tiwari, Union Minister Akhilesh Das and six AICC secretaries from UP -- Rajiv Shukla, Nirmal Khatri, Bhola Pandey, Jitin Prasad, Abdul Mannan and Vivek Bansal.

Incidentally, this is the young MP's first visit to the state Congress headquaters here at Mall Avenue.

UNI