Sonia Gandhi appoints leaders to assess situation in 5 states, suggest organisational changes

New Delhi, Mar 16: A day after asking the state chiefs of five states to resign following the poll debacle, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday engaged five senior leaders to assess the post-poll situation in five states, asking them to suggest organisational changes.

Rajya Sabha MP Rajani Patil has been asked to assess the situation in Goa, Jairam Ramesh in Manipur and Ajay Maken in Punjab, where the Congress lost power to the Aam Aadmi Party. Congress leader Jitendra Singh will to asses the post-poll situation in Uttar Pradesh and suggest changes, while Avinash Pandey has been asked to do so in Uttarakhand.

"Congress president has appointed leaders to assess the post-poll situation and suggest organisational changes in the states (with inputs) from MLA candidates and important leaders with immediate effect," an official communication said.

The Congress Working Committee had discussed the reasons for the poll debacle and authorised Sonia Gandhi to initiate necessary changes in these states after the drubbing. Gandhi Tuesday had asked the chiefs of its Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur units to submit their resignations.

The Congress, which had a fair chance of retaining Punjab and emerge victorious in Goa, fared poorly in the just-concluded assembly elections.

Meanwhile, the leaders of Congress, who are part of G-23, a group demanding organisational overhaul in the party, met at senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad's house. PTI