NEW DELHI, 9 August 2004 — The Congress party is gearing up to fight next month’s by-elections to two Lok Sabha and 12 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh.

The party, which leads the United Progressive Alliance government at the federal level and supports the Samajwadi Party-led government in Uttar Pradesh, is heading for a major shakeup in the northern state where it seeks to regain lost ground.

“Cosmetic surgery will not do. Ruthless action is needed to weed out vested interests and to give primacy to the organization,” AICC General Secretary Satyavrat Chaturvedi, who is in change of the key state, told reporters here yesterday.

He made it clear that Congress wanted to “pursue its own agenda” in the state, which was its powerhouse over 15 years ago, and has no plans for any truck with any other party.

He blamed the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led state government for the current strains in ties and accused it of not setting up a mechanism to sort out differences among allies as the UPA has done at the federal level.

Chaturvedi also dismissed charges by Samajwadi that it was being given a “raw deal” by the federal government.

He charged the party with failing to join secular forces in the fight against communal elements in Uttar Pradesh during the parliamentary elections.

Instead, the SP, which is “hand-in-glove” with the Hindu fundamentalist Bharatiya Janata Party, directed its attack against Congress before and during the elections, he said.

Alleging that governance was in shambles in Uttar Pradesh, Chaturvedi said the problems faced by students, cane growers, farmers and people in general about the power shortage and law and order situation did not speak highly of the Mulayam government.

Congress supports the Samajwadi government from the outside without being in alliance with it. He admitted that revamping Congress in the state would be a long haul given that the “party setup in several areas was in dire straits”.

However, he expected things to get better for the party now that it was in power in Delhi.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mulayam rejected Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati’s charges that the SP had hatched a conspiracy to “eliminate” her.

Mayawati, who ruled the state until she was toppled last year, does not face any threat from the state government, Mulayam said, adding that he was ready to provide her with additional security if needed.