Months Ahead Of State Polls, Congress Names New Chiefs For Punjab, UP

In a major organisational reshuffle months ahead of state polls, the Congress has named two new chiefs of its Punjab and Uttar Pradesh units. In Punjab, it has gone with hockey legend Pargat Singh, while in Uttar Pradesh, Aradhana Misra Mona has been tasked with leading the party into next year's polls.

Mona, a three-time MLA from UP's Rampur Khas, is the daughter of Rajya Sabha MP Pramod Tiwari. She replaces Ajay Rai, who had been at the helm of the Congress's UP unit since 2023.

Both she and her father are seen as close to Akhilesh Yadav, whose Samajwadi Party has welcomed the leadership change and called for a coordinated campaign in the upcoming polls.

READ | Hockey Legend Pargat Singh Named Punjab Congress Chief After Raja Warring Quits

Speaking to NDTV, Mona thanked Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge and the Gandhis for placing their trust in her and exuded confidence that her party will win the 2027 elections.

"We will take on the government over the BJP's failures, be it the SIR issue, unemployment, law and order, or inflation. In 2027, the BJP will be ousted, and an INDIA alliance government will be formed in Uttar Pradesh," she said. 

Several changes also reflected in the Congress' organisational lineup in UP, with Lok Sabha MP Imran Masood being named as the working president, and Devendra Nishad and Alok Prasad appointed as vice presidents of the state unit.

READ | 'Charanjit Channi Saheb Has Won': Raja Warring Meets Rahul Gandhi After Exit As Punjab Congress Chief

Besides, Chaudhary Virendra Singh has been chosen as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in Uttar Pradesh, a crucial position once held by Mona.

The outgoing chief, Ajay Rai, has extended his best wishes to the newly appointed office-bearers.

Pargat Singh's elevation to the top party post in Punjab came amid rising infighting in the Congress's state unit.

Two days earlier, Amarinder Raja Singh Warring had resigned as the Punjab Congress chief after a heated battle with former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi - an infighting that saw Pargat Singh as largely neutral.

READ | Analysis: Who After Raja Warring? Inside The Congress Search For Punjab 2027 Poll Formula

Unlike an entirely fresh lineup in UP, the state chief's appointment has been the only change announced for Punjab.

The other choice that Congress had for the post was Vijay Inder Singla, a former Union minister. A Hindu Bania face, he currently heads the party's election management committee.

The Congress, however, went with Pargat Singh, a Jat Sikh face who was with the Shiromani Akali Dal 10 years ago. Warring, too, is a Jat Sikh, a prominent and politically influential community that gave Punjab most of its chief ministers.