Team Rahul to ‘appoint’ party block heads in state:

Having suffered in the 2012 Assembly elections due to the Congress's lack of structure at the grassroot level in Uttar Pradesh, party vice-president Rahul Gandhi has decided to focus entirely on re-organisation.

Sources in the party said that right from the selection of district and city heads to block-level party heads, everything is being monitored by his team, with focus on selecting people known for their work at the grassroot level.A senior party leader said that while the list of about 80 district and city unit heads is awaiting clearance from his office, the new zonal incharges have already been informed about the party's plan to form block and booth-level committees. The district and city heads of over 803 blocks in the state have been asked to propose two names for the post of block head in their respective area.

Sources said that the names currently being suggested by the district heads to the zonal incharges are being scrutinized separately by Rahul Gandhi's team. "The entire re-organisation work is being monitored by his team. We have been told that the selection should be of such people who have been working quietly among people. Workers with background in social work are being given preference," said a senior party leader, adding that the message is clear: "Leaders should not be bigger than the party. Select people who have been working at the grassroot level".

Moreover, sources said the party is also in the process of forming "programme-monitoring mechanism". One of the zonal incharges informed that instead of presuming that the block and district units would automatically hold dharna or agitation when asked to, there will be a proper monitoring system to check the implementation of the programmes of the party.