Congress Appoints New Party Chiefs In Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand. Maharashtra Unit Gets New Working President

Congress appointed Tariq Hameed Karra as the President of its Jammu & Kashmir unit and Keshav Mahto Kamlesh as the President of its Jharkhand unit. Additionally, Maharashtra unit got a new Working President.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday made significant appointments in the Jammu & Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) and the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee in a significant organisational reshuffle ahead of the assembly polls. Tariq Hameed Karra has been appointed as the President of the Jammu & Kashmir PCC, while Tara Chand and Raman Bhalla have been designated as Working Presidents of the same committee. Karra is replacing Vikar Rasool Wani as the president of Congress party's Jammu and Kashmir unit.

The Congress expressed its appreciation for Wani's contributions during his tenure as the Pradesh Congress Committee president.

In a parallel move, Keshav Mahto Kamlesh has been appointed as the President of the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee, replacing Rajesh Thakur, with immediate effect. In Jharkhand, where assembly elections are expected later this year, Rameshwar Oraon has been appointed as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party with immediate effect.

The reshuffle also extended to Maharashtra, another state where elections are due later this year. Balasaheb Thorat has been appointed as a member of the CWC, and Mohd Arif Naseem Khan has been named a special invitee to the CWC. Additionally, Syed Muzaffar Hussain has been appointed as the working president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee.

Assembly Election Schedule 2024

This comes after the Election Commission of India announced that Assembly elections in Jammu & Kashmir will be held in three phases starting from 18th September, marking the first such elections in the union territory since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. The three-phase elections to the 90-member Jammu & Kashmir Assembly will take place on 18th September, 25th September, and 1st October, as announced by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar in a press conference. The elections will serve as a crucial test for the BJP and the INDIA bloc following their performance in the recent Lok Sabha polls.

Simultaneously, elections to the 90-member Haryana Assembly will be conducted on 1st October, with the results for both Jammu & Kashmir and Haryana expected on 4th October. The BJP is keen to regain political momentum in these regions, especially in Jammu & Kashmir, where its influence has traditionally been stronger in the Jammu division.

The Election Commission has indicated that the next set of elections, including those in Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Delhi, will be announced after the completion of the polls in Jammu & Kashmir and Haryana.