Major Shake-up in Chhattisgarh Congress: 36 New District Chiefs to Take Charge, Final List Approved in Rahul Gandhi’s Meeting

Raipur. The Chhattisgarh Congress is preparing for a major organisational overhaul, with plans to replace most of its District Unit Presidents.

Party sources indicate that the Congress is finalising a list of 41 District Unit Presidents. Up to 36 new faces are likely to take charge, while only five existing presidents are expected to be retained. The move aims to revitalise the state unit and bring in a more active and dynamic leadership. An official order from the party regarding the appointments is expected soon.

The decision follows an assessment of district-level performance, particularly in areas where organisational activity was below expectations. The party had appointed 11 District Presidents in the past six months, and those whose work was unsatisfactory will now be replaced.

The list of new appointments is reportedly finalised for key districts across the state, from Raipur to Jagdalpur.

• Raipur City Congress is likely to be headed by Subodh Haritwal, while Praveen Sahu may take charge of the Raipur Rural unit.
• Rakesh Thakur is tipped for the Durg Rural post.
• Balkrishna Pathak and Sushil Maurya are likely choices for Ambikapur and Jagdalpur, respectively.
• New faces are also expected to lead the Bilaspur and Dhamtari units.
• Other contenders include Pankaj Tiwari and Manoj Gupta (Gourela-Pendra-Marwahi), Ashok Srivastava and K. Damru Reddy (Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur), R.N. Verma and Dheeraj Bakliwal (Durg City), and Mukesh Chandrakar and Saket Chandrakar (Bhilai District).

The decision follows a key meeting held in Delhi last week to discuss the party’s organisational restructuring.

The meeting saw the presence of several senior Congress leaders, including AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal, Chhattisgarh In-Charge Sachin Pilot, former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, T.S. Singhdeo, Leader of Opposition Dr. Charandas Mahant, and State President Deepak Baij.

Discussions were held in two phases — the first included one-to-one interactions with Baghel and Singhdeo, while the second phase involved talks with Baij and Dr. Mahant.

Party sources confirmed that the final decision on the Chhattisgarh District President appointments was taken at a meeting chaired by Rahul Gandhi, where K.C. Venugopal and Sachin Pilot were also present.

Six-Month Performance Review Planned

The Chhattisgarh Congress will implement a performance-based system for its unit heads. Under this new mechanism, the work of District Presidents will be reviewed every six months. Only those who actively participate in organisational work, membership drives, and grassroots activities will continue in their roles.

To prepare the new team, senior Chhattisgarh Congress leaders will hold a training session in Delhi for the newly appointed District Presidents. The training will focus on the party’s working methods and is expected to include a meeting with Rahul Gandhi.

The party aims to complete the entire process before November 10.