Congress strong on representation, as it rejigs state leadership in MP, Chhattisgarh

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge announced the succession of former chief minister Kamal Nath as Madhya Pradesh unit chief on Saturday, 16 December, by 50-year-old Jitu Patwari, a member of the Other Backward Classes.

This follows the Indian National Congress' unexpected defeat in Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections recently. The Congress won 66 seats, while the BJP got 163.

As part of the restructuring of its Madhya Pradesh state unit, the party also appointed former state minister Umang Singhar (48), a tribal leader, as the leader of the Congress legislature party, and Hemant Katare (38) as his deputy.

OBCs constitute 48 per cent of the state's population. The ruling BJP has had four chief ministers from this segment since 2003—namely, Uma Bharti, Babulal Gaur, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the current incumbent Mohan Yadav, who was sworn in on 13 December.

Nath met Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and tendered his resignation soon after the results of the Assembly polls, sources claim.

'The hon'ble Congress president has appointed Shri Jitu Patwari as the president of the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee with immediate effect,' an official communication from the party said. 'The party appreciates the contributions of outgoing PCC president Shri Kamal Nath,' it added.

In replacing Nath with Patwari, who has been the working president of the Madhya Pradesh Congress, the grand old party has initiated a generational shift of bringing younger leaders to the forefront, in addition to adding greater representation—a stated aim in the party's support for a national caste census.

'The Congress president has also approved the proposal of the appointment of Shri Umang Singhar as the CLP leader and Shri Hemant Katare as the deputy leader of Madhya Pradesh,' the statement added.

Another statement said that Kharge has given his approval to a proposal to appoint Charan Das Mahant as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in Chhattisgarh with immediate effect.

'The Congress president has also approved the proposal to continue Deepak Baij as the president of the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee,' it added.

Mahant is a member of the OBC section, while Baij comes from one of the Scheduled Tribes (STs).

With PTI inputs