Major Congress rejig after assembly poll loss, Priyanka relieved of UP post

The Congress on Saturday appointed Sachin Pilot the general secretary in-charge of Chhattisgarh and Avinash Pande the general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, replacing Kumari Selja and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, respectively.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will now be a general secretary "without any assigned portfolio", according to a statement issued by the Congress.

The appointments come two days after a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), party's highest decision-making body, which was chaired by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and attended by senior leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

Pilot, a former deputy chief minister of Rajasthan, replaces Kumari Selja, who has now been given the charge as general secretary in-charge of Uttarakhand, the statement said.

Congress leader GA Mir is the general secretary in-charge of Jharkhand with the additional charge of West Bengal, it said. Deepa Dasmunshi has been appointed the general secretary of Kerala and Lakshadweep with additional charge of Telangana.

Senior leaders Jairam Ramesh, K C Venugopal, Mukul Wasnik and Randeep Singh Surjewala remain the general secretary in-charges of communication, organisation, Gujarat and Karnataka, respectively.

Jitendra Singh, who is the general secretary in-charge of Assam, was given the additional charge of Madhya Pradesh, while Deepak Babaria holds the charge of Delhi and the additional charge of Haryana, the statement said.

The appointments have been made with immediate effect by the Congress president, it said.