Congress overhauls UP unit, Khabri new president

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New Delhi, October 1

Reduced to just two MLAs in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly, the Congress on Saturday set out to revive the party by appointing senior Scheduled Caste leader Brajlal Khabri as the new state chief.

Khabri replaces Ajay Kumar Lallu who had tendered his resignation after the party’s humiliating poll losses in the Assembly polls earlier this year.

The party also named six zonal presidents — Naseemuddin Siddiqui (west UP zone); former UP minister Ajay Rai (Prayag zone); Virendra Choudhary (Purvanchal zone); Nakul Dube (Awadh zone); Yogest Dikshit (Bundelkhand) and Anil Yadav (Etawah).

Party sources said caste and regional combinations had been factored in the overhaul by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and AICC general secretary Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Vadra.

Khabri is an SC leader tasked with consolidating SC support across the state. Choudhary is a tall Kurmi leader with influence in Faizabad, Basti, Maharajganj and Kushinagar, which are current BJP strongholds.

Ajay Rai who hails from the Bhumihar segment is an important leader from Varanasi, the Lok Sabha segment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Rai’s influence is expected to help the party in the region.

Former BSP stalwart Siddiqui has been tasked with the responsibility of western UP, where religious polarisation remains a major poll factor. The re-organisation seeks to revive the Congress in the state ahead of the 2024 General Election.