Madan Mohan Jha made Bihar Cong chief

Congress president Rahul Gandhi Tuesday appointed Madan Mohan Jha as president of the Bihar unit of the party.

The post was lying vacant since former PCC chief Ashok Kumar Choudhary was sacked last year by Sonia Gandhi and Kaukab Qadri was appointed the acting president.

Chaudhary, along with three MLCs, had quit the Congress in March and joined the JD(U).

Gandhi has made Akhilesh Prasad Singh chairman of the campaign committee, and also appointed four working presidents in the state unit - Ashok Kumar, Kaukab Quadri, Saamer Kumar Singh and Shyam Sunder (Dhiraj), a statement from AICC general secretary Ashok Gehlot said.

The Congress chief also approved the PCC Working Committee and Advisory Committee for the Bihar PCC.

While the PCC Working Committee of Bihar has 23 members, including young and old leaders, the Advisory Committee has 19 members comprising all top party leaders including Sadanand Singh, Meira Kumar, Shakeel Ahmed and Akhilesh Prasad Singh. All AICC office-bearers from Bihar will be permanent invitees to the panel.

The Bihar unit of the party has been in disarray for some time and the move is seen an attempt to put its act together and move forward unitedly with the RJD to defeat the BJP in the upcoming general elections in the state.

Bihar has 40 Lok Sabha seats.