Congress appoints Ghulam Nabi Azad as Uttar Pradesh in-charge ahead of Assembly polls

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad has been appointed in-charge of Uttar Pradesh and former minister Kamal Nath has been made in-charge of Punjab & Haryana with immediate effect, on Sunday.

Congress has made important changes in its leadership in these three states where the polls are due to be held next year.

Azad and Nath have replaced Madhusudan Mistry and Shakeel Ahmad, who were earlier state in-charges of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab & Haryana. Several questions are being asked about the Congress' leadership following the party's dismal performance in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and as well as the recent Assembly election.

On Saturday, the Congress won six seats in the Rajya Sabha polls and the BJP-led alliance made significant gains with 12 seats in the biennial elections. The other major gainer in the elections held for 27 seats across seven states include the Samajwadi Party, which won seven seats in Uttar Pradesh.

The Bahujan Samaj Party won two seats. Out of the 58 seats that fell vacant in the Upper House this summer, the NDA has now won 23, improving upon the 18 seats it held earlier. The Congress, which held 15 of these seats, now has nine. -ANI