U.P. bypoll preparation: Cong to hold meetings, get feedback from leaders in 10 constituencies
As the Congress proposes to hold assembly level conventions in all the 10 constituencies where byelections are to be held, a meeting of senior party leaders, including office-bearers of 10 districts, has been convened here on Wednesday to get feedback and prepare for the party’s conventions.
Lucknow: The Congress is gearing up for byelections to 10 assembly seats, keeping its plan B ready, even as it is in touch with the Samajwadi Party for possible seat-sharing in coming weeks.
Both the parties have not been able to seal the seat-sharing deal up to now.
The byelections to the state’s 10 assembly seats may be held in the next few weeks (with Maharashtra assembly polls), so both the Congress and the SP may hold another round of talks close to announcement of the bypolls.
As the Congress proposes to hold assembly level conventions in all the 10 constituencies where byelections are to be held, a meeting of senior party leaders, including office-bearers of 10 districts, has been convened here on Wednesday to get feedback and prepare for the party’s conventions.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary (incharge UP) Avinash Pandey has convened the meeting that Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president Ajay Rai and Congress Legislature Party leader Aradhana Mishra ‘Mona’ are scheduled to attend .
“Office-bearers from 10 districts have been called here on Wednesday. We will get feedback from them and discuss finer points to hold party’s conventions in all the 10 assembly seats. We will also discuss coordination with the Samajwadi Party,” said UPCC president Ajay Rai.
“This meeting is to discuss various organisational issues. This is also to prepare the Congress for byelections to 10 assembly seats,” said Congress Legislature Party leader Aradhana Mishra ‘Mona’.
The 10 assembly seats where the bypolls are to be held include Katehri (Ambedkar Nagar), Karhal (Mainpuri), Milkipur (Ayodhya), Meerapur (Muzaffarnagar), Ghaziabad, Majhwa (Mirzapur), Sisamau (Kanpur Nagar), Khair (Aligarh), Phoolpur (Prayagraj) and Kundarki (Moradabad). Five of these seats had Samajwadi Party MLAs while BJP and its allies (RLD and NISHAD Party) had representation on the remaining five seats.
There are indications that the Samajwadi Party is willing to give only two of the 10 seats to the Congress. However, the latter has staked claim to contest five seats.
It may be mentioned that the party has already decided to keep plan B for the bypolls ready. The Congress teams, including six AICC secretaries, have already completed the first round of their visits to the 10 constituencies and got feedback about the prevailing political situation there. Another round has now begun and the party bosses are going to get the opinion of the district office-bears and activate the party units there before taking a call about the seat-sharing and possible candidates .