The Congress flag.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Lucknow: The Congress on Sunday announced its new state executive committee for Uttar Pradesh which included as many as 43 members belonging to the OBC community. This move is an apparent indication of the party's focus on its bid to strengthen itself in politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha, ahead of next year's general elections.
The committee, which had 130 office bearers, had 16 vice-presidents and 38 general secretaries and 76 secretaries. A large number of young faces have made it to the executive committee while several old guards have been ignored.
However, the new committee had only three women office bearers. It also had 22 Muslims and 23 Dalits.
''We have tried to accommodate members from all the castes and communities. The committee is a representative one,'' said a senior state Congress leader while speaking to DH on Sunday. He, however, evaded a reply on the meager representation of the women in the executive committee.
The grand old party, which has been relegated to a fringe player in the state's electoral horizon, has also tried to accommodate leaders from Braj, Avadh, Bundelkhand, Poorvanchal and western UP region in the committee.
Poorvi Verma, the daughter of prominent OBC leader and three-time MP Ravi Prakash Verma, who crossed over to the Congress from the Samajwadi Party (SP) barely a few days back, has been made secretary. Similarly, Rakesh Rathore, who had also crossed from the SP, had been made general secretary.
Congress has been wooing the OBC leaders from the SP and BSP and has promised many of them a ticket also in the next year's Lok Sabha polls. On Saturday another prominent SP OBC leader Pramod Patel joined Congress.
The SP has accused the Congress, both members of the I.N.D.I.A, the grand opposition alliance, of not following the coalition 'dharma' and trying to poach its leaders.