Congress is taking these elections very seriously, which is why the new president was installed, one who is known for his skill to revamp the party organisation from the grass root in the past.

Nirmal Khattri is also known to keep away from factionalism of any kind within the party. He is now working with all, taking everybody with him, in the interest of party and his leaders Sonia and Rahul.

With the manner in which he installed his team at the party headquarters and media cell, Nirmal Khattri made it clear that he would give importance to competence and capability to deliver.

Ever since Nirmal Khattri was installed as the UPCC President, he has been repeatedly saying that revival of party at the grass root level would his top priority and this is what he has been doing presently.

Khatri has been saying that the hard work put in by Rahul in 2007 assembly elections paid dividends in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, and similarly, his efforts in the 2012 assembly polls would benefit the party in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Beaming with full confidence, Nirmal Khattri said that while the voter percentage of BJP and BSP came down, Congress got three per cent more votes than last time.

Senior Congress leader and party MLA Akhilesh Pratap Singh, who is associated with VIP constituencies Rae Bareli and Amethi, told IPA that the morale of the Congress leaders in UP got tremendous boost by the successful party rally in New Delhi on November 4 and speeches of Sonia and Rahul.

Akhilesh Pratap Singh informed that Rahul Gandhi’s experiment to divide UP Congress into eight zones would pay rich dividends in the Lok Sabha polls and help in the revival of party at the grass root level.

As directed by Rahul Gandhi, all the zonal presidents were busy touring their areas and rebuilding the organisation at village level. They are required to submit their reports after 10 days to the party high command.

Akhilesh said that zonal presidents would play important roles in ticket distribution for the Lok Sabha polls.

Besides zonal presidents’ recommendations, the party high command has also sent central observers to tour all the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in UP and submit their report about possible candidates.

UPCC president Nirmal Khattri also hinted that party could decide on Lok Sabha candidates much earlier then expected.

Akhilesh Pratap Singh said that AICC President Mrs Sonia Gandhi, as well as Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, were regularly visiting Rae Bareili.

He further said that once the zonal presidents submit their reports, then big rallies of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi would be organised in UP.

Although SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav and BSP supremo Mayawati were supporting UPA from outside, it was very unlikely that Rahul Gandhi would seek support from anyone for Lok Sabha polls.

Rahul Gandhi has always been of the view that Congress should contest polls on its own as happened in 2009 and it paid rich dividends.

Much significance is being to announcement by Mulayam Singh Yadav that his party would not field any candidate against Mrs. Sonia Gandhi in Rae Bareili. Congress had earlier not fielded any candidate against Mrs. Dimple Yadav, wife of CM Akhilesh Yadav, when she contested from Kannauj. (IPA Service)