Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee dissolved

The Congress Tuesday dissolved its Uttar Pradesh unit and all district and block committees, but retained the chief of the UP Congress Committee, party leaders said.

The move follows the rout of the party in the Lok Sabha polls in which its tally dropped to just two against 22 in the 2009 elections.

While all the committees were dissolved, UPCC president Nirmal Khatri will continue as the state committee chief.

Khatri was Lok Sabha member from Faizabad 2009-2014 but lost to the BJP's Lallu Singh in the recent elections.

The party managed to win only two seats - Amethi (Rahul Gandhi) and Rae Bareli (Sonia Gandhi) this year, while the BJP's tally rose to 71 from a mere 10 in 2009. Uttar Pradesh returns 80 members to the Lok Sabha.

Congress insiders told IANS that the party leadership was serious about Uttar Pradesh and it has sent signals that things would be set right.

A state leader expressed hope that "something has begun" and that various party committees "will be re-energized with young and potential leaders".