Bhupesh Baghel appointed Congress in-charge of Assam, Sachin Pilot gets Punjab

The Congress on September 5 appointed former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel as the party’s general secretary in-charge of Assam, in a major organisational reshuffle ahead of key state elections.

Baghel replaces the outgoing Assam in-charge, while Sachin Pilot has been appointed general secretary in-charge of poll-bound Punjab. Randeep Singh Surjewala has been given charge of Gujarat while continuing as Karnataka in-charge.

The appointments were announced by AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, who said the Congress president had reassigned and appointed party functionaries as general secretaries and in-charges of various states with immediate effect.

Baghel’s appointment assumes significance for the Congress in Assam, where the party will now have a new central leader overseeing its organisational and political affairs.

Punjab is scheduled to go to the polls early next year, while Gujarat will hold Assembly elections later in 2027.

The party also appointed Sukhdeo Bhagat as Chhattisgarh in-charge, Dr Sirivella Prasad as Maharashtra in-charge and P V Mohan as Andhra Pradesh in-charge.

Venugopal said the Congress appreciated the contributions of outgoing general secretaries and in-charges Jitendra Singh, Ramesh Chennithala and Manickam Tagore.

Mukul Wasnik will continue as AICC general secretary, according to the party statement.