Cong hints at dividing UP into 3 zones for 2019 polls
Earlier, Rahul had divided the state's UP in eight parts for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls during Nirmal Kahtri's tenure
To strengthening the party organisation in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress High Command is considering to restructure Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) by dividing it into three zones. During his 35-minute stay in Lucknow, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is said to have dropped broad hints in this regard. As per the revamp plan, Uttar Pradesh will be divided in three zones. Central UP Congress will comprise of parts of central UP and Bundelkhand. All of western UP will come under Harit Pradesh Congress, and eastern parts of the state will come under the Eastern UP Congress. Each zone will have a state president and in-charge with a general secretary-level leader to head all the zones.
Earlier, Rahul had divided the state's UP in eight parts for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls during Nirmal Kahtri's tenure. But the experiment did not yield results. The party could only retain its citadel — Amethi and Raebareli, represented by Rahul and AICC President Sonia Gandhi. Later, the system was disbanded.
Since then the party High Command has mulling over restructuring the party again to manage party affairs in the state. The 2017 debacle in assembly polls was another reason to think seriously about revamping the structure in the run up to 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Sources claimed an announcement will be made after finalising president for the zones. Names doing rounds in the party circles included PL Punia, RPN Singh, Jitin Prasad, Rajeshpati Mishra, Akhilesh Pratap Singh and Imran Masood.
