Rahul Gandhi today set out on the task of setting the house in order of the Congress in the south by holding consultations with party leaders from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
This was Rahul's first meeting with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy after the state government got into controversies with Home Minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy named an accused by CBI in the Jagan Mohan Reddy assets case.
Sabitha is the third minister after Mopidevi Venkataramana Rao and Dharmana Prasada Rao to face charges in the assets case.
After the meeting, PCC chief Botcha Satyaranayana told reporters that the issue of local bodies election was discussed in the meeting.
Satyararayana is also a minister in the state government and according to sources he has earlier been told that he will have to forgo one of the posts. A decision on the next PCC chief of the state is likely soon.
It was also the first formal interaction of the Congress Vice President with the PCC and CLP leader of Tamil Nadu after UPA ally DMK withdrew support from the government leading to a buzz of early polls in the country with the UPA's numbers depleting.
In the meetings, Gandhi emphasised the need to strengthen the party at the grass roots, an issue that had also come up during his meetings with leaders fron Delhi and Bihar yesterday.
