Congress announces list key leaders to overlook party campaign ahead of polls in 4 states

With Assembly elections due in four states in 2021, the Congress party led by interim President Sonia Gandhi has announced its list of leaders to overlook their election campaign in the respective states. Notably, the party has chosen Chattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel to overlook its campaign in Assam, where the elections are due in April whereas Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot has been selected as in-charge of the Kerala assembly elections. 

"Congress President has appointed following leaders as senior observers for overseeing Election Campaign Management & Coordination in states where assembly election is going to held in 2021, with immediate effect. They will discharge their duties in close coordination with AICC General Secretaries and in-charges in the respective states," the party press release read. 

Here are the teams announced by Congress for the upcoming elections: 

Assam: 

• Bhupesh Baghel 
• Mukul Wasnik 
• Shakeel Ahmad Khan 

In Assam, Congress faces stern opposition from the ruling BJP which holds 61 seats in the 126-seater Assembly. In a massive jolt to the party way before the polls, Congress' Debabrata Saikia lost his position as the Leader of Opposition (LoP) after two MLAs of his party quit and joined the ruling BJP. The Congress had won 26 seats in the 2016 assembly polls. Elections in the north-eastern state are due in April this year. 

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Kerala:

• Ashok Gehlot
• Luizinho Faleiro 
• G. Parameswara 

In Kerala, the Congress has formed a blanket alliance with the Indian Union Muslim League, Kerala Congress (M) and the    Revolutionary Socialist Party under United Democratic Front (UDF). The party suffered a major setback in the recently concluded local body polls which has been termed as a preview to the Assembly polls. The party's state faction is being led by Ramesh Chennithala who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the state. Congress-led UDF, which won 19 seats out of 20 in the Lok Sabha elections, bagged 45 bodies out of 86 in the local polls. The party holds 21 seats in the Kerala Assembly at present. 

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Tamil Nadu & Puducherry:

• M.Veerappa Moily 
• M.M.Pallam Raju 
• Nitin Raut

In Tamil Nadu, the Congress has had a longstanding alliance with the DMK which is set to continue for the upcoming polls to the Assembly, where AIADMK currently enjoys majority. To boost its chances of faring well in the elections, the Congress recently announced a major rejig in its state faction. On Sunday, the Congress named 32 vice presidents, 57 general secretaries and 104 secretaries in the party’s Tamil Nadu state committee. In the 234-seater Assembly, Congress currently holds only 7 seats whereas its ally - DMK - holds 97 seats.

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West Bengal:

• B.K.Hariprasad
• Alamgir Alam 
• Vijay Inder Singla 

In West Bengal, the Congress has joined hands with the Left parties in the state ahead of the Assembly elections which are due in May. Congress' Bengal chief Adhir Chowdhury had announced the alliance with the Left parties on December 24, amid the high-pitched campaign by the BJP and the ruling TMC ahead of the Assembly polls. In the previous elections, Congress won 44 seats and the Left parties had won 26 seats whereas the TMC had bagged 211 seats. 

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