New Delhi, February 23: Months ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, the Indian National Congress Party on Saturday formed six committees in Uttar Pradesh and announced that actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar will chair the election committee. Rajiv Shukla, the former chairman of IPL (Indian Premier League), has been made the chairman of media and publicity committee.

According to the statement, "Congress president Rahul Gandhi has approved the proposal regarding the formation of six committees related to Uttar Pradesh: election committee, campaign committee, election strategy and planning committee, coordination committee, manifesto committee, as well as media and publicity committee." Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Congress to Build Ram Temple at Ayodhya if it Takes Power, Says Harish Rawat.

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Former MLA from Hapur, Gajraj Singh, has been given the chairmanship of the campaign committee and Rashid Alvi the chairmanship of the manifesto committee. Surgical Strike Hero D S Hooda to Head Congress Panel on National Security Vision.

Senior party leader Salman Khurshid has been made a part of the election strategy and planning committee as well as the election committee, according to the statement issued by Congress general secretary K C Venugopal. Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader Ajay Kumar Lallu has been given the chairmanship of the coordination committee, the statement said.

Sriprakash Jaiswal, a former Union coal minister, and P L Punia, the Chhattisgarh in-charge for Congress and a Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh, have been made members of the election committee, it said.

In the upcoming elections, Congress is fighting alone but has kept its door open for an alliance with smaller parties. In the state two major parties- Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party have formed a mahagathbandhan to defeat the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Last month, Congress has appointed Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as general secretary in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh and Jyotiraditya Scindia as Western Uttar Pradesh in-charge as a part of election preparation for the 2019 general polls. (With Agency Inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 23, 2019 11:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).