Priyanka & Scindia to probe what led to rout

Seniors want Rahul to stay Cong chief

With Congress president Rahul Gandhi out of action in party affairs, his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, AICC general secretary, is moving looking into organisational affairs. On Wednesday, Ms Gandhi and Jyotiraditya Scindia, also a general secretary, will meet top Congress leaders to discuss the party’s rout in the Lok Sabha polls. On Tuesday, Ms Gandhi will go on a “thanksgiving” trip to Rae Bareli, which re-elected her mother Sonia Gandhi to Parliament. It is the only seat the party won in UP.

On Wednesday, Ms Vadra will join the review meetings to discuss the reasons for the party’s poor show in the state. Sources said district presidents from eastern UP and other senior leaders will attend marathon meetings that will go on till late in the presence of the two general secretaries.

In her coming UP visit, Ms Vadra will also meet party representatives from Amethi, which her brother Rahul Gandhi lost to the BJP’s Smriti Irani by a huge margin. Mr Scindia will meet candidates who lost the polls from constituencies near Delhi. After that, he will go to Lucknow to assess the party’s overall situation in the state.

With Congress president Rahul Gandhi out of action, his sister and party general secretary, Priyanka Gandhi, will start looking into organisational affairs. On Wednesday Ms Gandhi and Jyotiraditya Scindia will meet top Congress leaders to discuss party’s rout in the Lok Sabha polls particularly in eastern Uttar Pradesh. On Tuesday, Ms Gandhi will be on a “thanksgiving” visit to Rae Bareli. She will also take part in review meetings on Wednesday to discuss the reasons behind the party’s poor performance in the general elections in the state. Rae Bareilly is the only Lok Sabha seat that the Congress could win in the state in the recently concluded Lok Sabha election.

According to sources, district presidents from the eastern region of the state and other senior leaders will be attending marathon meetings which will go till late in the presence of secretary incharges of eastern UP. On June 4, a meeting was held at Ms Gandhi’s residence in New Delhi, which was attended by the president of the Uttar Pradesh Congress committee, Raj Babbar, and other general secretaries, including Mr Scindia, to rebuild the party at the block level.

In her upcoming visit to UP, she will also be meeting party representatives from her brother’s constituency Amethi. Mr Gandhi lost the election from the family bastion by almost 55,000 votes to BJP leader Smriti Irani. Mr Scindia will be meeting party candidates who lost the elections from constituencies adjoining Delhi. After that, he will be travelling to Lucknow to assess the situation for the party in the state. Just before the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress had