Congress Appoints Bhupesh Baghel as General Secretary for Punjab in Major Organisational Revamp

Updated: Friday, February 14, 2025, 23:12 [IST]

The Congress party has undergone a significant organisational reshuffle. On Friday, Bhupesh Baghel, the former Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, was appointed as the general secretary in charge of Punjab. Meanwhile, Syed Naseer Hussain, a Rajya Sabha MP, has taken on the role of general secretary for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. This overhaul saw the replacement of six general secretaries and in-charges.

Bhupesh Baghel Named General Secretary for Punjab — Representative image

New Appointments and Roles

In this restructuring, two new general secretaries and nine in-charges were appointed. Among the changes, Hussain was relieved from his previous attachment to the Congress president's office. Rajani Patil, a senior party leader and Rajya Sabha MP, is now responsible for party affairs in Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh.

Krishna Alla Varu, K Raju, and Meenakshi Natarajan have been designated as AICC in-charges for Bihar, Jharkhand, and Telangana respectively. These states are gearing up for elections. Ajay Kumar Lallu, who previously led the Uttar Pradesh Congress, will now oversee party activities in Odisha.

Regional Responsibilities

Girish Chodankar, formerly the chief of Goa Congress, is tasked with managing Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Additionally, Saptgiri Sankar Ulaka has been assigned to handle party affairs in Manipur, Tripura, Sikkim, and Nagaland. These appointments aim to strengthen the party's presence across various regions.

The Congress party expressed gratitude towards outgoing general secretaries and in-charges such as Dipak Babaria and Mohan Prakash. Others acknowledged include Bharat Sinh Solanki, Rajeev Shukla, Ajoy Kumar, and Devendra Yadav. K C Venugopal, AICC general secretary, conveyed this appreciation in a statement.

This organisational revamp reflects the Congress party's strategy to bolster its leadership structure ahead of upcoming elections. By appointing experienced leaders to key positions across states, the party aims to enhance its electoral prospects and streamline operations nationwide.