New Delhi/Kolkata, Jan 7 Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday appointed party leaders as AICC Senior Observers for the forthcoming Assembly elections in poll-bound states of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and West Bengal, with immediate effect.
As per a press release issued by the AICC, the party appointed former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, and Bandhu Tirkey as senior observers for the Assam Assembly elections.
At the same time, the Congress appointed former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot, Karnataka Minister K.J. George, Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi and Kanhaiya Kumar as senior observers for the Kerala Assembly polls.
For the elections in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, the party appointed Mukul Wasnik, Telangana Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy and Qazi Mohammad Nizamuddin as senior observers.
For the Assembly polls in West Bengal, the Congress appointed Sudip Roy Barman, Shakeel Ahmad Khan and Prakash Joshi as senior observers.
The announcement of senior observers has come ahead of the Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry, which are likely to be held in the months of April and May, as the tenures of the respective state assemblies are due to end in May and June.
The appointment of senior leaders for the upcoming Assembly elections assumes significance as the Congress is looking to regain the ground it lost in previous elections.
After failing to make a significant impact in the Bihar Assembly polls, the party is now looking for electoral gains in the forthcoming state elections. Therefore, it has entrusted senior leaders, including former Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers, with the responsibility of steering the campaign and effecting a turnaround.
However, the absence of any heavyweight leader among the senior observers appointed for West Bengal has raised eyebrows.
Questions are doing the rounds in political circles about whether the party is serious about giving a tough contest to the ruling Trinamool Congress, especially at a time when the Congress has only a limited presence in the state.
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