Congress to follow Priyanka Gandhi's formula to form district, city committees

The innovative formula of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, daughter of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and sister of party Vice President Rahul Gandhi, tasted success in stemming the factionalism and strengthening the party base in Raebareli and Amethi and now the Congress party is replicating it in all the other districts in Uttar Pradesh.

Priyanka Gandhi had evolved the new strategy for formation of district and city committees and implemented it in Raebareli, the Lok Sabha constituency of her mother Sonia Gandhi, and later in Amethi, Rahul Gandhi's parliament constituency.

Under the system, the bio-data of the interested Congress workers are sought in a set format and then interviews are held. A party worker is selected to a committee, till block level, based on the information in the bio-data and the interview. Now, all of UP has been divided into four parts each headed by four AICC secretaries in charge of state —- Naseeb Singh, Prakash Joshi, Rana Goswami and Zubair Khan. They have already started holding interviews in districts to finalise the district and city committees.

During the Congress party's last re-organisation, district and city presidents were elected and given free hand to select the 35-member committee, comprising seven vice-presidents, 10 general secretaries, 16 secretaries and a registrar apart from the president.

Wth this system the party leadership is being able to meet majority of the active and prominent workers in the district and listen to their grievances as well. The interviews are being conducted at the district level in the presence of newly-appointed district and city presidents, concerned zonal presidents, co-ordinators and AICC secretary in-charge of the district. The names finalised are sent to state party president for approval. All zonal heads and AICC secretaries have been asked to finalise the district and city committees by August 25.