The Congress think tank has asked poll strategist Prashant Kishor to send his team to Amethi on Saturday— Parliamentary constituency of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and assess the ground situation of the party. It is probably for the first time that an independent agency has been asked to strengthen the party in Amethi, which was always looked after by the Gandhi family.
In 2012 Assembly polls, Priyanka Gandhi was in-charge of the polls at Amethi and RaeBareli but the Congress fell flat on its face. The party could win 2 seats in Amethi but the board was blank in Rae Bareli.
Now PK’s team would be visiting Amethi for two days from Saturday for assessing the party’s situation at the ground level.
The Gandhi family was forced to send the team as resentment among the leaders is growing in the region and frequent visits of Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani has somewhat jolted the party base.
In a major setback to Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, one of the MlAs, Mohamed Muslim also ditched the party and voted against the official nominee in the biennial polls for Rajya Sabha and legislative Council and was later expelled. After reaching Amethi on Saturday morning, PK’s team would meet block presidents and other members of the block development committees. The next day, the team will meet district leaders of frontal outfits and later meet district-level leaders, who have been sidelined at present.