Nirmal Khatri quits as UPCC chief, Raj Babbar may lead campaign

While Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Nirmal Khatri has resigned, the AICC has not ratified it yet.

Mr Khatri had met Congress president Sonia Gandhi recently and sources on Tuesday confirmed his resignation.

It is now to be seen whether the party appoints a Brahmin leader in his place. The names of former MP from Varanasi Mr Rajesh Mishra, former Union minister Mr Jitin Prasada, and sitting Rajya Sabha member Mr Pramod Tiwari are doing the rounds.

Election strategist Mr Prashant Kishor, who has been engaged by the Congress for the UP polls, has been pressing for a change in UPCC, suggesting that the current team can’t deliver against the BJP, Samajwadi Party and BSP.

Mr Khatri’s absence in the meeting of party officials and workers called by AICC general secretary in-charge of the state, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, held in Lucknow a few days ago was a clear indicator of upcoming change. This was Mr Azad’s first visit to the state after his appointment as the party general-secretary. If Congress insiders are to be believed, Mr Raj Babbar, the Congress MP from Uttarakhand, could be made campaign committee chief for the UP polls. The former Samajwadi Party MP could be effective, they said.

Mr Azad had recently told reporters here that the Congress would project a chief ministerial candidate in the UP polls, which means that the party has to fight over 300 of the total 403 seats on its own.