OBC leader Jitu Patwari new Madhya Pradesh Congress chief

Bhopal: In a major shakeup, Congress on Saturday replaced veteran leader Kamal Nath with former minister Jitu Patwari, who belongs to OBC, as Madhya Pradesh PCC president, besides appointing tribal leader Umang Singhar as party’s legislature wing head in the state.

The AICC also appointed Hemant Katare, a Brahmin, as deputy leader of Congress Legislature Party (CLP).

AICC general secretary K C Venugopal informed about the new appointments while issuing a press release.

The move has indicated that the party leadership in Madhya Pradesh has now gone to the second generation of leaders in Congress.

Mr Patwari lost the November 17 assembly polls from Rau Assembly constituency, while Mr Singh won the polls from Gandhwani seat.

Both the leaders were considered close to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

While Mr Patwari is considered a bitter critic of Mr Nath, Mr Singh is known to be an adversary of veteran Congress leader Digvijay Singh.

Mr Singhar has however recently apologised to Mr Singh four hurling corruption charges at him a couple of years ago.

Mr Nath’s ouster from the post of state party chief has raised questions about his political future.

He had entered into state politics in 2018 when he was made state Congress president.

He had led the party to victory in 2018 Assembly polls in MP, bringing it to power in the state after a gap of 15 years.

The AICC leadership on Saturday also appointed former Union minister Charan Das Mahant, an OBC leader, to head  the CLP in Chhattisgarh.

Mr Mahant is considered a protégé of Congress veteran Digvijay Singh.

The party leadership however retained tribal leader and Lok Sabha member from Bastar Deepak Baij as president of Chhattisgarh unit of Congress.

Mr Baij lost the recent Assembly elections from Chitrakot seat under Bastar Lok Sabha constituency in Chhattisgarh.

Congress has suffered severe drubbing in the recently held Assembly elections in both the states.