Cong rejigs UP team; picks Aradhana Misra as new chief, Masood working prez

Congress appoints Aradhana Misra-Mona as Uttar Pradesh unit president and Imran Masood as working president.

The reshuffle aims to achieve social balance, with a Brahmin president and a Muslim working president, ahead of the 2027 state assembly elections.

Mona's appointment boosts efforts to woo women voters and provides an electorally strong leader for the party.

Imran Masood's appointment is seen as an attempt to garner Muslim support, though it may create friction with the Samajwadi Party.

The new leadership faces immediate challenges, including crucial seat-sharing talks with the Samajwadi Party for the upcoming polls.

The Congress on Friday appointed Aradhana Misra-Mona the president of its Uttar Pradesh unit and named MP Imran Masood the working president, effecting a major organisational reshuffle ahead of the assembly polls in the state next year.

Mona, daughter of Rajya Sabha MP Pramod Tiwari, replaces Ajay Rai, who has been the Uttar Pradesh Congress president since August 2023.

The party also named Chaudhary Virendra Singh as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in Uttar Pradesh.

Mona was the CLP leader until now.

Devinder Nishad and Alok Prasad have been appointed senior vice presidents of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC), according to a party statement.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has appointed the president, working president and senior vice presidents of the UPCC with immediate effect, it said.

The party appreciates the contributions of the outgoing PCC President Ajay Rai, the statement said.

Kharge also approved the appointment of Singh as the leader of the CLP in Uttar Pradesh with immediate effect, it said.

New Leadership For Uttar Pradesh Congress

With these appointments, the Congress has sought to strike a social balance, with a Brahmin appointed as president, a Muslim as working president and Rajendra Pal Gautam, the AICC in-charge of the state, being a Dalit leader.

However, Masood's appointment as working president could ruffle feathers in the Samajwadi Party as the Saharanpur MP has recently been trading barbs with the Akhilesh Yadav-led party.

Masood's appointment is also seen as an attempt to garner the support of Muslims in western Uttar Pradesh.

Mona's appointment as UPCC president gives the party an electorally strong leader.

She won her seat even when the Congress was routed in the last assembly election.

Her appointment also boosts the party's efforts to woo women in the state.

Strategic Appointments For Social Balance

With these appointments, the focus now shifts to the Congress' seat-sharing talks with the SP, with both sides likely to play hardball.

Elections in Uttar Pradesh are due early next year.

Aradhana acknowledged that with the 2027 state elections only a few months away, she would have to hit the ground running as her party seeks to regain political space it has steadily lost in the state since 1989.

After Mohsina Kidwai and Rita Bahuguna Joshi, Mona, a Brahmin, becomes another prominent woman leader to helm the Congress' UP unit.

Eyeing The 2027 Assembly Elections

"I am grateful to my party for the trust reposed in me for this big responsibility and am hopeful that together we will be able to make a meaningful difference in UP," Misra told PTI after the party named her for the key post.

She said she would do her best and acknowledged that the proximity of the 2027 polls meant she would have to quickly settle into her new role. At the same time, she pointed to the effort put in by the party over the past few years, particularly the 2024 Lok Sabha election results.

The Congress-Samajwadi Party (SP) alliance won 43 seats in Uttar Pradesh in the 2024 general election, limiting the BJP to 33 in the most populous state.

The SP won 37 seats, including the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat that includes Ayodhya, while Congress won six, including Saharanpur, from where Imran Masood was elected.

Challenges And Alliance Dynamics Ahead

While Mona, the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader until now, has good relations across the political spectrum, including with the SP, Masood has been vocal about the Congress being the "big brother" in the alliance between the two parties, which is said to be in the works ahead of 2027 assembly polls.

"I am very hopeful that INDIA Bloc would be very strong in UP in 2027 UP polls," Mona said.

Chaudhary Virendra Singh will replace Mona as the Leader of the CLP in Uttar Pradesh.

Outgoing Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Rai had earlier told PTI that he would be contesting the 2027 UP polls from Pindra assembly segment of Varanasi. Sources said he was not too keen on entering into a pre-poll alliance with the SP.

Asked about the potential balancing act in view of Masood favouring a respectable seat-sharing arrangement with SP, Mona said, "I think everything that is in the interest of the party and the alliance will be done. I am sure we will sit down together to arrive at a mutually agreeable seat-sharing arrangement with INDIA Bloc, especially with Samajwadi Party."

On whether her good relations with SP president Akhilesh Yadav would influence the way the SP-Congress alliance moves forward, she said, "Whatever is in the best interests of the party will be done."

Asked if her appointment has been made keeping the women vote bank in mind, she said, "The Congress has always promoted women, and I hope and trust that this point that you mentioned will also play out positively in the party's favour."