Sonia appoints Scindia as head of screening committee for Maharashtra

Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursday appointed party leader Jyotiraditya Scindia as chairman of the party's screening committee for the forthcoming Maharashtra Assembly polls in her first major election-related decision as interim chief.

Others in the six-member committee include state Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat, Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader KC Padavi, party leader Harish Chaudhary and MP Manickam Tagore. Congress general secretary-incharge of the state Mallikarjun Kharge is also a member.

The screening committee will finalise the candidates for the assembly polls and make its recommendations to the party's Central Election Committee. Maharashtra will go to the polls later this year.

Scindia had resigned as general secretary in-charge of western Uttar Pradesh after the party's bad performance in the Lok Sabha elections. The party could not win a single seat in the region. Scindia also lost the Lok Sabha election.

Sonia Gandhi has held meetings with leaders of election-going states. She was chosen as interim chief at a meeting of Congress Working Committee earlier this month following the resignation of Rahul Gandhi as party chief over party's debacle in the Lok Sabha elections.