Congress appoints new chiefs for 41 district units in Chhattisgarh

The All India Congress Committee (AICC) has appointed presidents for its 41 district units in Chhattisgarh as part of the party's organisational restructuring in the state, a party functionary said on Saturday.

The appointments as per the choice of Congress workers are part of a comprehensive organisational overhaul under 'Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan', aimed at strengthening the party's urban and grassroots structure in the state, said Dhananjay Singh Thakur, senior spokesperson of the state Congress.

The list of appointments, which includes five women leaders, was issued on Friday late evening.

The move comes a day after senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot, who is the party's state in-charge, concluded his two-day visit to Chhattisgarh.

AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal, in a statement, said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has approved the proposal for the appointment of heads of district Congress committees as part of the 'Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan'.

He said that under this initiative, AICC observers assigned to each district conducted detailed reviews, engaged with party functionaries and other stakeholders, and submitted their comprehensive reports.

Following the submission of these reports, one-to-one discussions were held with each observer, as well as with senior leaders before the appointment, he said.

Among the key appointments, Shrikumar Shankar Menon has been made president of the Raipur city unit, while Rajendra Pappu Banjare will head the Raipur Rural unit. In Bilaspur, Siddhanshu Mishra will lead the city unit, and Mahendra Gangotri has been given charge of Bilaspur Rural.

Former minister and incumbent Congress MLA Kawasi Lakhma's son, Harish Lakhma, has been appointed as president of the Sukma district unit.

Jitendra Udya Mudliyar, the son of Congress leader Uday Mudaliyar who was among the party leaders killed in the Jhiram valley Maoist attack in 2013 in Bastar, has been appointed as president of the Rajnandgaon city unit.

The list also includes key appointments such as MLA Dwarikadhish Yadav for Mahasamund district, Ashok Srivastava for Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur (MCB), and Surjit Singh Thakur for Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki.

In Raigarh, Shakha Yadav will lead the city unit, while Shashi Singh Korram will head the Surajpur district unit.

Other notable appointments include Harihar Prasad Yadav in Balrampur, Prem Shankar Shukla for Bastar rural, Saleem Raja Usmani in Dantewada, Tarini Chandrakar in Dhamtari, Dheeraj Bakliwal for Durg City, Ravi Ghosh in Kondagaon, and Mukesh Kumar Rathor as the new district president for Korba city.

Of the 41 appointments, 11 district unit presidents, including former MLA Ashish Chhabra, the president of Bemetara district, Chandresh Kumar Hirwani of Balod, Sumitra Ghritlahare of Balodabazar, and Nagendra Negi of Raigarh rural, have retained their posts.