The Congress party has named Rajendra Pal Gautam as the new Congress In-charge for Uttar Pradesh in preparation for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state. Gautam takes over from Ajay Kumar Lallu for this significant role in the BJP-ruled state where voters are set to elect 403 new members of the legislative Assembly in April 2027. In the 2022 elections, the Congress secured only two seats.
The party has also assigned new AICC In-charges for Odisha and Haryana as part of its organizational changes. A note issued by All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary K.C. Venugopal announced the appointments of Sanjay Dutt for Haryana, Lalji Desai for Odisha, and Rajendra Pal Gautam for Uttar Pradesh. The party acknowledged the contributions of outgoing General Secretaries/In-charges Avinash Pande, B.K. Hariprasad, and Ajay Kumar Lallu.
The appointment of a new AICC In-charge in Uttar Pradesh comes amidst the Congress party’s concerns over alleged financial irregularities in the Ayodhya Ram Temple donations and the functioning of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Trust. During a recent press conference in New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president Ajay Rai and UP Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Aradhana Mishra raised issues of mismanagement of funds donated by devotees and assets associated with the Ram temple project. They called for a comprehensive audit of the trust’s operations and criticized the composition of the investigating team.
Alleging irregularities in donation collection, land transactions, and management of offerings, Rai emphasized the need for a swift and thorough inquiry monitored by a sitting High Court judge. He highlighted what he described as a “systematic” and “organized” misuse of resources at various stages, demanding a time-bound investigation to address the alleged financial discrepancies.
