Amid churn in the Congress, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra holds meeting to review U.P. poll performance

Harish Rawat hits out at detractors for alleging that he “sold” tickets to unworthy candidates in Uttarakhand

The disquiet within the Congress over the debacle in the recent Assembly elections played out in the public domain even as party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra held a closed-door review of its performance in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday.

Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and party veteran Harish Rawat hinted at sabotage by colleagues not just against him but also his daughter, while countering the charge that he “sold” tickets to unworthy candidates. Mr. Rawat indicated that he could look at “other options” if he is seen as a liability for repeatedly losing elections.

Separately, the G-23 leaders, who had written to party chief Sonia Gandhi for sweeping internal reforms and collective leadership, too are said to be planning to meet on Wednesday to formulate their next course of action.

A key member of the group, Kapil Sibal, has already publically taken on the Gandhis by stating that while people like him wanted a “Congress for all,” some others wanted a “Congress for the family”.

Former party chief Rahul Gandhi, however, walked away when reporters asked him for a response when he was entering the Parliament House.

Another member of G-23, Sandeep Dikshit, said that “those who were responsible for formulating policies in the poll bound States should accept responsibility for the loss”.

Mr. Rawat, who has been blamed for the loss in Uttarakhand as well as “mishandling” Punjab as the former in-charge, hit out at his detractors.