Dinesh Gundu Rao, H.K. Patil given plum posts

Bengaluru: In a major reshuffle of Congress Party organisation, AICC General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewal has been appointed as In-charge of Karnataka Congress. He has replaced K.C. Venugopal, who has been made AICC General Secretary.

Venugopal was appointed as Karnataka Incharge when Siddharamaiah was the CM, and he had played an important role in the formation of Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress Coalition Government due to fractured mandate in 2018 Assembly polls. He was also one of the leaders responsible for the pre-poll alliance between the JD(S) and the Congress for 2019 Lok Sabha polls which boomeranged as the Congress won just one seat of the total 28 Lok Sabha seats.

Plum posts

Several State Congress leaders have been given big responsibility by making them Incharge of States. While former KPCC President Dinesh Gundu Rao has been made In-charge of Tamil Nadu, Goa and Pondicherry, former Minister H.K.Patil has been given Incharge of Maharashtra. Another former Minister, Krishna Byre Gowda has been made Member of AICC Central Election Authority.

The old guards of the Party, Mallikarjun Kharge, Gulam Nabi Azad, Motilal Vora and Ambika Soni have been replaced by a new team. Rumours are rife that Kharge may be given the post of Opposition Leader in Rajya Sabha. Kharge and former Union Minister K.H. Muniyappa have been continued as permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee.