Congress constitutes UP poll panel; includes Lallu, Khurshid, Shukla

Gearing up for the Assembly polls next year, the Congress on Wednesday constituted the election committee for Uttar Pradesh, which includes state unit chief Ajay Kumar Lallu and former Union ministers Salman Khurshid, Rajeev Shukla and R P N Singh.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has approved the proposal of the constitution of the Pradesh Election Committee of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC), said a statement issued by K C Venugopal, AICC general secretary in-charge organisation.

Apart from 38 members named in the panel, national president/chairperson of AICC organisations/departments from Uttar Pradesh, state heads of frontal organisations, vice-presidents and general secretaries of the UPCC will be its ex-officio members.

The election committee includes state party chief Lallu, CLP leader Aradhana Mona Misra, senior leaders Khurshid, Shukla, Nirmal Khatri, Pramod Tiwari, P L Punia, R P N Singh and Vivek Bansal.

Former MPs Rajesh Mishra, Rajaram Pal, Rakesh Sachan, Begum Noor Bano, Zafar Ali Naqvi, Harendra Malik, Rashid Alvi, Mohd Muqeem, Naseemuddin Siddique and the party's 2019 Lok Sabha candidate from Lucknow Acharya Pramod Krishnam are also part of the panel.

AICC secretaries Imran Masood, Brijlal Khabri, Sudhanshu Tripathi, B P Singh and Jitendra Baghel are also among those included.

UP Congress chief Lallu has said that the Congress would fight the polls in Uttar Pradesh next year under Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's "dekh-rekh (supervision)" and would make a comeback in the state after over three decades.

Congress functionaries have said that the party is prioritising organisation building and carrying on the struggle against the government on the streets in the run-up to the crucial Assembly polls.

The Congress in Uttar Pradesh organised a statewide "BJP gaddi chhodo" marches this week on the occasion of August Kranti Diwas.