With all the district or city units remained disbanded, the Uttar Pradesh Congress started membership drive with a mission to revive the Party and brought it back from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Interestingly, state president, Nirmal Khatri, set a deadline of July 31 to appoint new district and city president, so that the drive could be carried on with full zeal but he failed to meet it out. This is not the first time that Khatri failed to meet his commitments. After taking the charge of state president, almost about two years back, he made several promises regarding formation of district and state units, but every time he failed to meet deadline and lastly, he was forced to form a temporary committee to somehow meet out the commitments of the Party Organisation during Parliament elections.
He tried to cool down the dissidents but giving them posts of acting presidents. However, after complete rout in the Parliament elections with Khatri himself remaining at the fourth place in Faizabad, he once again disbanded the state as well as district units with announcement that now new team will be formed very soon. However, now when he failed his first commitment of formation of district level units, the party functionaries are guessing that this time also, the committee might come when it will be too late for the Organisation to became active and face next Assembly elections. It may be also mentioned here that Congress also had to face by-elections for a dozen Assembly seats besides one Parliament seat at Mainpuri.
Meanwhile, Khatri launched the membership drive of the party in the state capital on Friday evening. The main function was held at Amrapali chowk under lucknow east assembly segment by senior Congress leader, Ramesh Srivastava, who is also a top of list of probables for candidate of the Party from lucknow (east). Khatri said that though even every Congress supporter and activist are the member of the family but still membership drive has been launched to make them political active. Buoyed with the turnout in the membership camp here, Khatri said that this large crowd proves that the party is loved by the people and they want to be connected with the party. Former UP Congress president and MlA Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who was also present in the function, said that people have been ditched by the
slogan of ‘ Acche Din Aane Wale hai’ and now masses will answer these communal forces by joining our membership drive. Several senior party leaders were also present in the function.The membership drive of the Congress will continue till December 31 next.