Cong plays tribal card in J'khand; appoints Oraon as state party president

New Delhi: Eyeing victory in Jharkhand assembly elections, the Congress has played its tribal card by appointing Rameshwar Oraon as president of Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee (JPCC). The assembly election in the tribal-dominated state is scheduled to be held later this year.

Apart from the appointment of new state chief, the Congress has also appointed five working presidents to make the party win the assembly elections.

According to political experts, the party has tried to appease every community that matters in Jharkhand by appointing five working presidents of different communities and a tribal as the head of the team.

"The appointment of Oraon and five others shows the visionary approach of Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Winning state assembly election is a major challenge for the party when the country is hailing the 'bold step' of BJP-led government at the Centre on scrapping Article 370 from the Himalayan state," the political commentator stated.

"Congress has tried to give a representation of all such communities that may help in winning the state elections," the experts said, adding that the party has handled the issue very smartly by not appointing Subodh Kant Sahay as state head.

The five working presidents appointed by the Congress president include Keshav Mahto Kamlesh, Irfan Ansari, Rajesh Thakur, Manas Sinha and Sanjay Paswan.

Oraon, who was elected from Lohardaga Lok Sabha seat of the state, was the Union Minister for Tribal Affairs in the Manmohan Singh government during the UPA-I regime. Apart from that, he has also served as the chairman of the national Scheduled Tribe Commission. However, in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Oraon was not given the ticket to contest from Lohardaga seat.

The appointment of a new president comes after Ajoy Kumar resigned from the post taking moral responsibility of the Congress's defeat in Jharkhand in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Local Congress leadership had also lodged complaints against Kumar for selling the Lok Sabha tickets.