Members of the Congress party hold the party flag during a rally in Ahmedabad. (File photo)
Union Minister Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, a known detractor of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, young Dalit MP Ashok Tanwar and senior leader VM Sudheeran were today made Congress chiefs in West Bengal, Haryana and Kerala respectively.
AICC Secretary and young leader VD Satheeshan has been appointed Vice President of the party in Kerala, Congress General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi said.
The appointments signal Rahul Gandhi's efforts to make the party battle-ready ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. They come close on the heels of young leaders Sachin Pilot and Arun
Yadav being made heads of the party units in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh respectively.
Mr Chowdhury, who is Minister of State for Railways, replaces Pradip Bhattacharya, MP, who was the acting party chief in West Bengal. Mr Tanwar succeeds Phulchand Mulana, also a Dalit and a close associate of Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Mr Sudheeran, who is widely respected in Kerala politics, comes in place of Ramesh Chennithala who has been made the state Home Minister.
Mr Satheeshan, a close associate of Rahul Gandhi, who is known for his clean image and for taking up green causes, has been made Vice President of Kerala Congress Committee. Mr Sudheeran's appointment is significant in view of the fact that Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Chennithala were pressing the case of G Karthikeyan, who is now the Assembly Speaker.