In a major organisational rejig, Avinash Pande has taken charge from Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as the Congress' general secretary in charge in Uttar Pradesh. He was earlier the All India Congress Committee in charge of Jharkhand. Pande's recent appointment made Priyanka Gandhi a general secretary “without any assigned portfolio”.
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Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Pande expressed his gratitude to Congress president Mallikarjun, party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and party leader Rahul Gandhi for his appointment as party in charge of Uttar Pradesh. "With boundless gratitude for the confidence placed in me by INC India President Kharge ji, Chairperson of Congress Parliamentary Party Sonia Gandhi ji, our leader Rahul Gandhi ji, and Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal ji, and with an unswerving resolve to honour that trust, I humbly accept the appointment as the General Secretary Incharge of Uttar Pradesh," he wrote.
Who is Avinash Pande?
- A former Rajya Sabha MP, Avinash Pande was a member of the party's highest decision-making body, the Congress Working Committee (CWC). Before this appointment, he was the party in charge in Jharkhand.
- He joined Congress through the party's student wing. He was assigned several positions in the party at the state and national levels.
- Lawyer by profession, Pande was elected as a Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra in 2010. Hailing from Nagpur, he was earlier a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council.
- Apart from Jharkhand, he was earlier the party in charge of Rajasthan before the 2018 assembly elections.
- Amid a tussle between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot, Pande was removed from the position and later given charge of Jharkhand in 2022.