Rahul in Mumbai: Will he clean up Cong's Maha mess?

With ally Nationalist Congress Party surging ahead of Congress in the recent local body elections in Maharashtra, All India Congress Committee general secretary Rahul Gandhi's one-day visit to Mumbai on Friday is being viewed in party circles as a move to put the state unit into a pro-active mode and retrieve lost ground.

Rahul's schedule includes meetings with elected representatives from the local bodies and office-bearers of block, district and state units.

This is the first time the youth leader will be participating in a political stock-taking exercise in the state, where Congress is in power, along with Sharad Pawar's NCP, since 1999 but is steadily losing ground to its ally.

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He had visited Mumbai two years ago for a Youth Congress enrollment drive and interacted with college students. Rahul had also undertaken a surprise ride in a suburban train.

Party sources said apart from participating in a meeting of Youth Congress and NSUI office-bearers, Rahul will hold discussions with the block and district unit presidents from across Maharashtra at Tilak Bhavan.

Organisational issues, including party programmes, will dominate the deliberations, they said.

All party representatives elected in the recent local body elections have been invited at Indian Gymkhana in Matunga, central Mumbai.

"In this meeting, Rahulji will have an interaction regarding developmental issues and local problems," the sources said, adding Congress legislators and ministers have also been invited.

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