Faced with the daunting task of reviving her party, which had been reduced to a fringe political player in Uttar Pradesh, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra kicked off a three-day long 'pathshala' (classes) for the state party office bearers on Tuesday.
All the newly-appointed UP Congress functionaries were attending the 'pathshala', which was being held in party president Sonia Gandhi's Lok Sabha constituency of Raebareli, about 90 kms from here.
''We will be deliberating mainly on strengthening the party organisation at the booth level,'' said a senior state party leader while speaking to DH here.
The leader said that Priyanka would be giving "tips" to the functionaries on who to "connect" with and take up the issues that concerned the common man.
"A majority of the newly-appointed functionaries are relatively fresh in politics... they are young and have very little experience... such an interaction will enable them to discharge their responsibilities effectively," he went on to add.
The UP Congress had undergone a major reshuffle recently and Ajai Kumar Singh 'Lallu', an OBC leader from Kushinagar district in the eastern UP, was appointed the state party president, replacing Raj Babbar. Senior state leaders were accommodated in the organisation as advisers.
The brainstorming session was being held at a time when the grand old party found itself beset with many problems, including that of desertions in its rank.
The lone Congress MLA from Raebareli, Aditi Singh, who was considered to be close to Priyanka, has lately been hobnobbing with the BJP and had skipped party meetings. A show-cause notice was also issued to her for attending the recent special session of the UP assembly in defiance of the party whip.
The grand old party had fared dismally in the 2017 Assembly polls and the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. It could win only seven seats in the Assembly polls and only one seat in the LS polls. Even Rahul Gandhi lost in his home turf of Amethi.