Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee on Friday made fresh appointments for the city on Saturday. Chintu Choukse, who is already the leader of opposition in Indore Municipal Corporation, has been named the new president of City Congress Committee while Vipin Wankhede has been made district (rural) president.
Choukse will now hold both posts. This is the first time that the Leader of Opposition has also been given charge of the city unit. His term will be three years. Wankhede’s appointment surprised many in the party.
A former MLA from Agar-Malwa, he has mostly worked in that region for the last 15 years. By giving him this role, leaders believe the party wants to connect him more strongly with the city's politics.
Wankhede has also led the NSUI at the state level in the past. For the city president’s post, names like Arvind Bagdi, Deepu Yadav and Aman Bajaj were also in the race. Some senior leaders pushed for Bajaj, but state Congress chief Jitu Patwari supported Choukse. With municipal elections two years away, the party is trying a new experiment by putting the city unit under Choukse.
After his appointment, Choukse said he would strengthen the party down to the booth level and focus on issues like corruption and failed government schemes ahead of civic polls.
However, the reshuffle also triggered dissent as Congress divisional spokesperson Sunny Rajpal resigned saying that Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan’ had been side-lined and that young, grassroots workers were being ignored. He said senior leaders were blocking second-line workers from moving up. Rajpal added he would continue as a simple party worker but not as a spokesperson.
