Alarmed with poll results during last Assembly elections particularly in Amethi and Rae Bareli, the Congress vice- president Rahul Gandhi and his sister and Party’s star campaigner Priyanka Vadra jointly held day long discussions with the local leaders in Amethi on Tuesday.
They wanted to strengthen the Organisation at ground root level which the sibling termed as the biggest reason for poor show during last Assembly elections. To select the right candidates for the block and district level organization in Amethi, particularly the person which had potential to mobilise the workers to work and tell the public about various welfare scehems undertaken by Congress led government in the Centre, both Rahul Gandhi along with Priyanka interacted with the party leaders at Munshiganj guest house throughout Tuesday, the first day of their three-day visit to the lok Sabha constituency of the Congress vice-president.
Priyanka has been entrusted by her elder brother to select the leaders to lead the district party organizations from the block level like she did for her mother Sonia Gandhi's adjoining Rae Bareli constituency. "She and Rahul Gandhi took the interview of the probable leaders who would be appointed as the president of the blocks and members of the district Congress committees,''sources here said. Over 100 Congress leaders from all the blocks of Amethi had attended the meeting chaired by the brother-sister duo to strengthen the party's base in the district. Amethi had 17 blocks at present. Both Rahul and Priyanka reached Amethi this morning from Delhi at Fhursatganj airport.
On way to Munshiganj guest house, people of the Amethi constituency who thronged all the way had handed over two memorandums to the Congress leader who stopped his cavalcade at several placed to listen to the problems of the public of his constituency. The first memorandum was given by one Sudha Singh of Fhursatganj in which she charged the SHO of Fhursatganj police station Raj Karan Singh of kidnapping her son. She also alleged that there is a threat against her family from the SHO and demanded action against him and release of her son. Sudha claimedthat Rahul assured of all help and had called her to meet him at Munshiganj guest house so necessary proceedings could be made. In the second memorandum handed over by Tilio Bachoa Samiti, it has been demanded to revert back the Tiloi tehsil from Rae Bareli to Amethi district.
This would be the first visit of Priyanka to Amethi after the last Assembly polls. However, the Congress star campaigner gave full time to Rae Bareli by making regular visits and she even personally look the profiles of leaders and met them before appointing them on various district and block level posts. She is expected to do the same exercise in Amethi before returning to New Delhi on Wednesday evening but Rahul Gandhi would stay till Thursday in his constituency. During the visit, Rahul Gandhi would also inaugurate the Quarter Guard of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) group centre at Trisundi on Thursday, before leaving for New Delhi. Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs R P N Singh, would also be present on the occasion.