NEW DELHI, Sep 5: The Congress on Saturday announced a major organisational reshuffle, appointing Sachin Pilot as the party’s general secretary in-charge of Punjab and moving Bhupesh Baghel to Assam in the same capacity.
Pilot will take charge of Punjab, which is scheduled to go to the polls early next year, replacing Baghel as the party’s state in-charge.
The Congress also appointed Randeep Singh Surjewala as general secretary in-charge of Gujarat. He will retain his existing responsibility for Karnataka, where the party recently witnessed a smooth transition of power.
The Gujarat Assembly elections are due later next year, making the latest appointments significant for the party’s preparations in the poll-bound states.
Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal said the party president had reassigned and appointed several functionaries as AICC general secretaries and in-charges for different states, with immediate effect.
As part of the organisational changes, Sukhdeo Bhagat has been appointed in-charge of Chhattisgarh, while Dr Sirivella Prasad will oversee Maharashtra and P V Mohan has been given charge of Andhra Pradesh.
The party also acknowledged the contributions of outgoing general secretaries and state in-charges Jitendra Singh, Ramesh Chennithala and Manickam Tagore.
Mukul Wasnik will continue to serve as AICC general secretary, according to the party’s statement.
The reshuffle comes ahead of a crucial election cycle for the Congress, with the party seeking to strengthen its organisational machinery and state-level leadership ahead of the upcoming Assembly contests.