Priyanka Gandhi May Take Charge of East UP After Kumbh Dip on February 4

New Delhi: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress's newly appointed general secretary in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, may formally take charge on February 4 after a holy dip in the river Ganga at the Kumbh Mela, news agency IANS reported.

Priyanka will be accompanied to the Kumbh by Rahul Gandhi, who is often slammed by rivals for pursuing "soft Hindutva" after he began his visits to the shrine from the iconic Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand in April 2015.

The report further stated that on February 4, Priyanka Gandhi will hold a press conference along with Rahul Gandhi in Lucknow. The news agency, quoting sources, said that the Gandhis have zeroed in on February 4 for the holy dip on the occasion of "Mauni Amavasya" and the second "Shahi Snan".

But if they don't get a chance to take a holy dip on February 4, they will opt for February 10 on the occasion of Basant Panchami and the 3rd 'Shahi Snan', it stated.

This is perhaps the first time the two Gandhis will take a dip at the Sangam, where the Ganga and Yamuna meet the mythical Saraswati. In 2001, then Congress President Sonia Gandhi had attended the Kumbh Mela and taken a holy dip.

In an unprecedented move, the Congress president had split the organisational responsibilities for Uttar Pradesh — a State with 80 Lok Sabha seats — between his sister and senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia.

Kerala MP KC Venugopal has been appointed to the key post of general secretary (organisation) in place of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who was looking after UP, will now handle Haryana.