Gogoi made in-charge of Bengal, Oomen for Andhra Pradesh

New Delhi: In a major rejig ahead of the Lok Sabha election next year, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday appointed former Kerala Chief Minister Oomen Chandy as AICC general secretary, in-charge of Andhra Pradesh with immediate effect, replacing Digvijaya Singh.

At the same time, the party also appointed Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi as the in-charge of West Bengal and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Gogoi is the son of former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi. He contested for the general elections, 2014 from Kaliabor seat and won.

A statement of AICC mentioned that Chandy will be replacing Digvijaya Singh, who was appointed as chairman of Madhya Pradesh Congress campaign committee.

Gogoi will take over another Congress stalwart CP Joshi. Earlier in April, Joshi was replaced as state in-charge of Bihar. He still holds charge of the entire Northeast.

The party appreciates the hard work and contribution of Digvijaya Singh, who will be stepping down from his responsibility as AICC general secretary in-charge of Andhra Pradesh, a statement from party general secretary Ashok Gehlot said.

Meanwhile, the party sources also mentioned that Joshi's poor performance as the state in-charge led the party to the decision. "Since he was given charge no meetings happened in either in Bengal or in the North-East. No communication was there. State leaders were not happy with him," the statement said.

While talking to the Millennium Post, Chandy said, "I accept the decision. I thank Mr Rahul Gandhi for giving me the responsibility. This is indeed a challenging task but I am hoping co-operation from my party workers in the state too." The senior Congress leader further hopes that party will retain its position united in different parts of the country.

Meanwhile, the West Bengal Congress leadership also welcomes the re-jig and Congress Lok Sabha MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told Millennium Post, "We are optimistic over the outcome of the decision by the party president Rahul Gandhi."

CP Joshi tweeted " Heartiest congratulations to Gaurav Gogoi on being appointed as AICC in charge for the state of West Bengal." The changes will be enforced with immediate effect, the AICC statement mentioned.

Political observers feel that the Congress high command wants to have cordial and working relationships with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal and with N Chandrababu Naidu's TDP, who is considerably playing an important role in the anti-Modi front in the impending general elections.