UP Cong to test fresh talent, says Prasada

New Delhi, October 13 

The Uttar Pradesh Congress under Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is opening up party positions to fresh talent who could not make the cut earlier due to the “stranglehold of a few”, party leader Jitin Prasada said today as he hailed the revamp of the state unit for being a “mix of the old and new”.

Prasada said the Congress hopes to be a party of UP’s future and is looking at transforming the politics in the state by giving chances to people who could not make it into politics due to family background or financial constraints.

In an interview, he said the road ahead for the Congress in UP was very “long and tough”, but the party would remain unfazed by “short-term” setbacks as it was confident of winning back the people’s confidence eventually.

The Congress on Monday appointed Ajay Kumar Lallu as its Uttar Pradesh president, replacing Raj Babbar, and revamped the state unit, bringing in four vice-presidents, 12 general secretaries and 24 secretaries.

The party set up an advisory council to the general secretary comprising senior leaders such as Mohsina Kidwai, PL Punia and RPN Singh.

It also named an eight-member working group for strategy and planning.

Prasada, who was named as a member of the working group for strategy and planning, said Priyanka Gandhi as general secretary is giving direction to the party cadre which is determined to expose the forces who have gained people’s support due to a false narrative.

“Priyanka Gandhi is very firm on the view that the Congress worker is paramount. The approach will be ‘bottom up’ and the views of the party cadre will be taken in every decision,” the former Union Minister said.

“This has already begun and the Congress has gone ahead with the change in its Uttar Pradesh president and a new team that has been put in place,” the 45-year-old leader said. — PTI