Congress reshuffle in poll bound states: Azad in-charge of UP, Kamal Nath to look after Punjab

 The Congress Party on Sunday made important changes in its leadership in three states, including Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, where the polls are due to be held next year.

The Congress has appointed senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad as the state in-charge of Uttar Pradesh and Kamal Nath as state in-charge of Punjab and Haryana respectively. Azad and Nath have replaced Madhusudan Mistry and Shakeel Ahmad, who were earlier state in-charges of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab and 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 elections. 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.