New Delhi, November 6
The Congress today appointed Mr Salman Khursheed, a known Mulayum Singh Yadav baiter, as president of its Uttar Pradesh party unit, thus making it clear it is all set to battle the Samajwadi Party government in UP.

Mr Khursheed's formal appointment comes a day after Congress president Sonia Gandhi publicly confessed to the party's dismal state in Uttar Pradesh and promised organisational changes in its UP unit. She is acutely aware that Uttar Pradesh is crucial for the revival of the Congress.

This will be Mr Khursheed's second stint as president of the UP Pradesh Congress Committee (UPPCC).

By sending him back to Uttar Pradesh at this juncture when the Congress has touched an all-time low in the state and its organisation is in shambles, the Congress is hoping Mr Khursheed will rejuvenate the state unit and help revive the party's social base, which has eroded over the years.

Mr Khursheed is credited with the view that the Congress has necessarily to take on the Samajwadi Party, if it is to revive itself in Uttar Pradesh. Although the Congress is supporting the Mulayum Singh Yadav government, Mr Khursheed's arrival in UP is bound to witness an aggressive campaign against the SP government.

In fact, AICC circles were already rife with speculation that it is a matter of time before the Congress withdraws support to the SP government. Even a mid-term poll in Uttar Pradesh is not being ruled out.