Congress appoints Dalit leader as UP in-charge in strategic move

The Congress party on Friday announced new All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charges for three states: Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Odisha.

In Uttar Pradesh, the party appointed Rajendra Pal Gautam, chairperson of its Scheduled Caste department, as the new AICC in-charge. The move aligns with the party's strategy to strengthen its outreach to Dalit communities in the state. Gautam replaces Avinash Pande, who previously held the position.

In Odisha, the party replaced Ajay Kumar Lallu with Lalji Desai, the chief organiser of the Congress Seva Dal. Desai will take over as the AICC in-charge for the state.

For Haryana, AICC secretary Sanjay Dutt, who hails from Maharashtra, has been promoted to the role of state in-charge. He succeeds B K Hariprasad, who was recently appointed as the president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee.

Additionally, Srinivas B V, a former president of the Indian Youth Congress who gained recognition during the Covid-19 pandemic for supplying oxygen to patients, has been appointed as the chief organiser of the Congress Seva Dal, a frontal organisation of the party.