Sonia, Rahul Gandhi to visit Andhra Pradesh next month to revive party?
New Delhi: After the complete rout in residuary Andhra Pradesh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi will visit the state next month to deliver pep talk and enthuse the demoralised cadre as the Congress struggles to find its ground in the region.
APCC chief N. Raghuveera Reddy and Rajya Sabha MP K. Chiranjeevi made the request to their party top brass during their meetings on Monday as the duo met Mrs Sonia Gandhi and Mr Rahul Gandhi separately to discuss the outcome of the recent Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
Mr Reddy and Mr Chiranjeevi also asked Mrs Sonia Gandhi to constitute a team among the MPs to put pressure on the present NDA dispensation and ensure that the promises made by Dr Manmohan Singh on the floor of Rajya Sabha with regard to Seemandhra are fulfilled.
“We invited them to come and address our cadre. They said they would come for sure. We expect them to enthuse our cadre and also streamline the frontal organisations in Andhra Pradesh to bring the party back to its old glory,” Mr Chiranjeevi told this newspaper after the meeting.
The actor-turned-politician said the APCC hopes that the visit of the party’s national leaders would go a long way in resurrecting the party in Seemandhra region after the worst-ever rout. The party failed to win even a single seat in the recent elections.
“We hope that their visit would serve our purpose of reviving the party. They have extended their full cooperation to the state unit for reviving the Congress. They will also visit the state frequently,” Mr Chiranjeevi said.
Mrs Sonia Gandhi and Mr Rahul Gandhi will visit the state one after the other on the subsequent days in July. The exact date for the programmee would be worked out soon.
Mr Reddy told reporters that the state unit also made a request to Mrs Sonia Gandhi that her daughter Priyanka Vadra Gandhi should also visit the state as part of the resurrection process. However, there was no commitment from Mrs Sonia Gandhi in this regard.
Mr Reddy said the party would have a convention of all candidates, district presidents and PCC office bearers on June 16 and 17 in Vijayawada to assess the party’s performance and also chart a roadmap for strengthening the organisation.
On the committee, Mr Reddy said the party wants the panel to act as a “watch dog” to ensure that the promises made by the previous Congress government is fulfilled.
“There are lots of issues that Dr Singh promised as Prime Minister on the floor of the House. We want all those to be implemented. Since we don’t have any representation in Lok Sabha from Seemandhra, we wanted Mrs Sonia Gandhi to ensure that people from neighbouring state of Karnataka to take up these issues,” Mr Chiranjeevi said.
