New Delhi, Jul 12 (IT) : Months ahead of the Assembly elections, the Congress has named actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar as the chief of its Uttar Pradesh unit. The former Agra MP will replace Nirmal Khatri, who had resigned from the post a few days ago. The announcement was made by party general secretaries Ghulam Nabi Azad and Janardan Dwivedi at a press conference at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi.
Babbar had contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls from Ghaziabad but was defeated by BJP's General VK Singh. Raj Babbar, a three-term Lok Sabha MP, is currently a Rajya Sabha member from Uttarakhand. He is also spokesperson of the party.
Babbar (64), born in Tundla near Agra in UP, belongs to the Viswabrahmin community which is considered an OBC. He has been a three-time Lok Sabha member and is currently a Rajya Sabha member from Uttarakhand. He was a Rajya Sabha member earlier also.
Congress, which was once the dominant party in UP, had remained out of power in the state since long, losing out to the caste politics of Samajwadi Party and Mayawati led BSP.
NO DECISION ON PRIYANKA
Talking to reporters, Azad refused to announce any name as party's CM candidate for the UP polls.
After biting the dust in four states, Congress looks to Priyanka Gandhi
Responding to queries about Priyanka Vadra being given a major role for the Assembly elections, Azad said, "
Neither election dates are announced, nor campaigning has started in UP. There are proposals and party will take a call at an appropriate time."
"Campaign committee will be reconstituted," he added.
CONGRESS' SELECTION DILEMMA
Appointing party unit heads in states which will be going to polls early next year has proved to be a headache for the Congress. Last month, the party picked veteran leader Kamal Nath to lead the Punjab unit. However, the decision was slammed by the Sikh bodies and many within the party itself. Kamal Nath was forced to resign from the post after questions were raised over his appointment in view of his 'involvement' in 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
After Nath's resignation, the Congress's choice of Asha Kumari as Punjab in-charge was again criticised by the Opposition.
Asha's appointment also kicked off a controversy as she was convicted and fined by a Chamba, Himachal Pradesh court earlier in February this year after she was found guilty in a land grab case. The former Himachal education minister was found guilty of criminal conspiracy. Besides a year jail term, she was also slapped a fine of Rs 8,000.
She was accused of manipulating revenue records, fabricating wills and transferring 60 bighas of government forest land in the name of her husband, late Brijender Singh. She was however granted bail by the court.