Major rejig in Congress as it gears up for Assembly polls 2024

New Delhi: Congress on Friday night made strategic organisational appointments in Assembly poll-bound states Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir, in what is seen as accommodating senior leaders and bringing new vigour to the campaign.

Senior leader Balasaheb Thorat, who was earlier Congress Legislature Party leader in Maharashtra, returned to Congress Working Committee as a member in place of Ashok Chavan who quit the party to join the BJP.

In a decision seen as a reach out to the minority community, the party also appointed Naseem Khan, a prominent Muslim leader in Maharashtra, as Special Invitee to the CWC besides choosing Syed Muzaffar Hussain as Working president of Maharashtra Congress.

Khan was a serious contender for the Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha seat, which finally went to Varsha Gaikwad. The latest appointment is seen as the party recognising Khan’s influence among voters.

The appointments for the Jammu and Kashmir unit came on a day the Election Commission announced the schedule for Assembly elections in the region. It named senior leader Tariq Ahmed Karra as its president.

It also appointed Tara Chand and Raman Bhalla as Working presidents while outgoing president Vikar Rasool Wani was nominated as a Special Invitee to the Congress Working Committee.

Karra, who was a Permanent Invitee in the CWC, has been removed from the top panel, in what is seen as a balancing act.

Earlier in the day, the EC had announced three-phased Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir between September 18 and October 1, the first such exercise after the state was bifurcated into two union territories. This will also be the first Assembly polls in the state in ten years.

In Jharkhand, where elections are scheduled to be held later this year, the Congress appointed Keshav Mahto Kamlesh as president in place of Rajesh Thakur. It also appointed Rameshwar Oraon as the Leader of Congress Legislative Party.