New Delhi: In an apparent firefighting exercise amid the Madhya Pradesh crisis, the Congress on Wednesday appointed new party chiefs in Karnataka and New Delhi.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi approved the appointment of senior party leader D K Shivakumar as the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president while young Anil Chaudhary was made the head of the Delhi PCC.
While Shivakumar, a sugar baron, is known as the Congress' troubleshooter in Karnataka, the party has banked on Anil Choudhary's youthfulness for reviving the organisation in the national capital, where it drew blank in two consecutive assembly polls.
Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal announced the appointments in two separate releases on a day when Jyotiradithya Scindia joined the BJP ending his nearly two-decade association with the party. Some MLAs owing allegiance to Scindia are also in the BJP camp, putting the Congress government in the state on the brink of collapse.
Asked about the timing of the new appointments, Venugopal told Onmanorama the party had finalised the names already and was waiting for the Holi festival to get over to announce the decision.
“We have chosen two dynamic leaders to head the party in the two states. They are capable of facing the challenges of the party,” Venugopal said.
He said more Pradesh Congress Committees will be revamped in the coming days.
Besides Shivakumar, who is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case, Sonia Gandhi also approved the appointment of Eshwar Khandre, Satish Jharkiholi, Saleem Ahammed as the working presidents of Karnataka PCC.
Sonia Gandhi also approved the appointment of M Narayanswamy as the Chief Whip of Karnataka Legislative Council and Ajay Singh as Chief Whip of the Karnataka Legislative Council.
Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will continue as the Opposition leader and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) head.
In Delhi, besides Chaudhary, Sonia Gandhi approved the appointments of Abhishek Dutt, Jaikishan, Mudit Agarwal, Ali Hassan and Shivani Chopra as DPCC vice presidents.