Even though his welcome at UPCC office remained a low key affair with many senior Congress leaders, including outgoing state president Raj Babbar, conspicuous by their absence, newly-appointed chief of Uttar Pradesh Congress, Ajay Kumar ‘Lallu’, struck an emotional chord with the party workers.
Disclosing his poverty and the poor background from which he had struggled to see success now, Ajay Kumar ‘Lallu’ in his welcome address asked the party workers to get ready for agitation and not to hesitate to face ‘lathi’ or arrest in the fight for justice for the common man.
“I have seen poverty. I went to school wearing torn clothes and was compelled to sell tickets in cinema halls to meet my basic expenses,” he said while thanking the Gandhi family, especially Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for giving him the challenging task of reviving the party in UP.
“I will give every drop of my blood to fight for the party and the people,” the new UPCC chief said amidst applause and slogans of “Lallu tum sangharsh karo, hum tumhare saath hai”.
In her brief address, the new Congress Legislature Party leader Aradhana Mishra ‘Mona’ recalled the party’s contribution in the freedom struggle and asked the party workers to wage another fight to oust Bharatiya Janata Party from power.
Veteran Congress leaders Pramod Tewari and PL Punia, who saved the day for Lallu by their presence, asked the party workers to gear up for revival of the Congress under the new state leadership.
