Bengaluru: AICC General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala has been appointed as the new in-charge of the Karnataka Congress, effectively replacing K C Venugopal. His post has been given to the latter.
Surjewalaa, who is touted to be a Rahul Gandhi loyalist, is now a full member of the working committee, which is the highest decision-making body of the Congress party.
Major changes were made by AICC interim president Sonia Gandhi on Friday, when Key Committees of the party, including the Congress Working Committee (CWC) were reshuffled. The development comes over two weeks after 23 senior Congress leaders wrote a dissent letter to Sonia Gandhi.
Venugopal was appointed in-charge of the Karnataka Congress back when Siddaramaiah was the Chief Minister of the state. He is said to have played an important role in the formation of the JD(S)-Congress coalition government right after the 2018 Assembly elections and is also credited with the formation of the pre-poll alliance between the two parties ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The move to make Surjewala in charge of the state Congress was welcomed by senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge. He congratulated Randeep Singh Surjewalaa on Saturday on his new appointment.
Speaking to ANI, Kharge said, “I welcome the changes, Surjewalaa is a man of integrity and takes everybody into confidence and therefore he is a good choice for Karnataka. Surjewalaa stood by us in our difficult times.”
Meanwhile, former KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao has been made in-charge of Tamil Nadu, Goa and Pondicherry. Former Minister H K Patil has been appointed as the new in-charge of Maharashtra. Krishna Byre Gowda, a former Karnataka minister, has been made a Member of the AICC Central Election Authority.
Mallikarjun Kharge and other senior leaders of the party like Gulam Nabi Azad, Motilal Vora, and Ambika Soni have been replaced by a new team.
Rumours have it that Kharge may be made Opposition Leader in the Rajya Sabha. Kharge and former union minister K.H. Muniyappa are being continued as permanent invitees to the CWC.
