Congress Restructures Chhattisgarh Organisation, Appoints 41 District Presidents

The All India Congress Committee (AICC) has named new presidents for 41 district units in Chhattisgarh, marking a major phase in the party’s organisational revamp in the state, a senior party functionary said on Saturday.

According to state Congress spokesperson Dhananjay Singh Thakur, the selections, made in accordance with preferences expressed by grassroots Congress workers, form part of the wide-ranging restructuring exercise under the ‘Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan’, a drive aimed at bolstering both urban and rural party structures. The list, which features five women leaders, was released late Friday evening.

The announcement follows the completion of a two-day tour to Chhattisgarh by senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot, who currently serves as the party’s in-charge for the state.

In an official statement, AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal confirmed that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had cleared the proposal for appointing district Congress committee chiefs as part of the ‘Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan’. Venugopal noted that AICC observers assigned to each district carried out detailed assessments, interacted extensively with local office-bearers and stakeholders, and submitted comprehensive reports. These reports were then followed by individual consultations with each observer, as well as discussions with senior leaders, before finalising the appointments.

Among the notable postings, Shrikumar Shankar Menon will lead the Raipur city unit, while Rajendra Pappu Banjare has been placed in charge of Raipur Rural. In Bilaspur, Siddhanshu Mishra is set to head the city unit and Mahendra Gangotri will oversee Bilaspur Rural.

In Sukma, Harish Lakhma, son of former minister and sitting Congress MLA Kawasi Lakhma, has been named district president. Jitendra Udya Mudliyar, whose father Uday Mudaliyar was among the Congress leaders killed in the 2013 Jhiram Valley Maoist attack, has been appointed president of the Rajnandgaon city unit.

The list also includes several key district-level selections, such as MLA Dwarikadhish Yadav for Mahasamund, Ashok Srivastava for Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur (MCB), and Surjit Singh Thakur for Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki.

In Raigarh, Shakha Yadav will lead the city organisation, while Shashi Singh Korram has been entrusted with the Surajpur district unit.

Other significant appointments include Harihar Prasad Yadav in Balrampur, Prem Shankar Shukla for Bastar Rural, Saleem Raja Usmani in Dantewada, Tarini Chandrakar in Dhamtari, Dheeraj Bakliwal for Durg City, Ravi Ghosh in Kondagaon, and Mukesh Kumar Rathor as the new president of the Korba city district unit.

Out of the 41 positions, 11 district presidents have been retained, including former MLA Ashish Chhabra in Bemetara, Chandresh Kumar Hirwani in Balod, Sumitra Ghritlahare in Balodabazar, and Nagendra Negi in Raigarh Rural.

With PTI inputs