Bihar Cong chief Ashok Choudhary removed from post

 Chief of Congress's Bihar unit Ashok Choudhary was today removed from the post with immediate effect.

The party, however, did not announce his replacement. "Congress President Sonia Gandhi has relieved Ashok Choudhary from the post of Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee chief with immediate effect," AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said.

The action comes amid reports of a possible split in the Bihar unit, which a section of the party alleged was being spearheaded by him.

In a recent outburst, Choudhary had also accused a section within the party of maligning his name for brewing a rebellion within the Bihar unit.

The Congress has 27 MLAs in the 243-member Bihar Assembly. Amid fears that the state unit may split and some members may join the ruling JD-U, the Congress has claimed of having "defused" the situation after several MLAs were reportedly gravitating towards the JD(U) following the disintegration of the Grand Alliance last month.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi had also met over 20 of the 27 party MLAs earlier this month and sought their views on the party's functioning.

Sources said Gandhi had invited the Congress MLAs to avoid a split in the party, who were feeling uneasy after losing power in the state.