Congress makes major organisational rejig: Baghel Punjab in-charge, Hariprasad in Haryana

New Delhi: The much anticipated reshuffle in the Congress leadership was announced on Friday with the party drafting in Bhupesh Baghel and Syed Naseer Hussain as general secretaries and nine others, including B K Hariprasad, as in-charges of various states while relieving six leaders from their present positions.

One of the striking appointments is that of youth leader Krishna Allavaru, a close aide Rahul Gandhi, as in-charge of poll-bound Bihar by replacing veteran Mohan Prakash. He will be the central leadership’s eyes and ears in the state and would be dealing with the senior ally in the state RJD.

All other general secretaries and in-charges will continue to “serve in their designated capacities”, Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal said in a statement. On Thursday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, top leader Rahul Gandhi and Venugopal had held discussions to give final touch to the list.

It is not clear whether there will be more changes in the organisation.

Besides Prakash, the other leaders who were relieved of their responsibilities of general secretaries and in-charges are Dipak Babaria (Haryana), Bharatsinh Solanki (Jammu and Kashmir), Rajeev Shukla (Himachal Pradesh), Ajoy Kumar (Odisha and additional charge of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry) and Devender Yadav (Punjab).

Baghel, former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister who held discussions with the leadership on Thursday, has been given the responsibility of Punjab, where the party is eyeing victory in 2027 Assembly elections by unseating I.N.D.I.A. ally AAP. He will have to ensure that the infighting in the state unit is arrested and poll strategies are put in place ahead of the elections.

Hussain, a Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka and a Congress Working Committee member, has been given the charge of Jammu and Kashmir as well as Ladakh. He has been relieved of his duties in the Congress president's office upon his new assignment.

Hariprasad, a veteran from Karnataka who had handled various crucial states earlier, has been brought back as an in-charge and assigned Haryana, where his immediate assignment would be to steer the faction-ridden state unit after a shock defeat.

Besides Allavaru, who was in-charge of Youth Congress, other Rahul aides who found their place in the list of in-charges are National Coordinator of SC, ST, OBC and Minorities Departments K Raju (Jharkhand) and Meenakshi Natarajan (Telangana).

Rajani Patil, who was earlier divested of her responsibilities of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, is back in leadership as in-charge of Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh, while Rajasthan leader Harish Chaudhary, who earlier steered Uttar Pradesh, will handle Madhya Pradesh in place of Jitendra Singh, who was handling the state as additional charge along with Assam.

Goa leader Girish Chodankar has been given the responsibility of Tamil Nadu and Puduchhery while Tripura, Sikkim, Manipur and Nagaland, which he was handling, was given to Odisha MP Saptagiri Ulaka, who is also a CWC member. Former UP Congress president Ajay Kumar Lallu has been given Odisha's charge.

The changes come against the backdrop of a decision taken at the CWC meeting held in Karnataka’s Belagavi on December 26 earmarking 2025 as a year of organisational revamp. It also comes in time for the AICC Session in Ahmedabad in April this year.