Aradhana Misra Named UP Congress Chief Ahead of 2027 Polls
Congress reshuffles Uttar Pradesh unit as it prepares for Assembly polls and INDIA bloc seat-sharing talks
GG News Bureau
Lucknow, 3rd Oct: The Congress has appointed three-time MLA Aradhana Misra, popularly known as Mona, as the new president of its Uttar Pradesh unit, alongside a wider organisational reshuffle ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
Misra, daughter of Congress MP Pramod Tiwari, takes charge at a crucial stage as the party prepares for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections expected in about six months. Her appointment also comes as the Congress seeks to advance seat-sharing discussions with the Samajwadi Party (SP), its INDIA bloc partner in the state.
The Congress has also appointed Rajya Sabha MP Imran Masood as working president, Chaudhary Virendra Singh as Leader of the Congress Legislature Party, and Devinder Nishad and Alok Prasad as senior vice presidents of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee.
The reshuffle places leaders from different social communities in prominent organisational positions. Misra is a Brahmin, Masood is Muslim, while Rajendra Pal Gautam, a Dalit leader, is the AICC in-charge of Uttar Pradesh.
Misra is expected to play a role in discussions with SP president Akhilesh Yadav over seat-sharing for the Assembly polls. The two parties have differed over the number of seats each should contest, with SP maintaining that its organisational position makes it better placed to challenge the BJP in the state.
Asked about Yadav, Misra described the SP as a strong partner of the INDIA bloc and praised the way he had strengthened his party.
She also referred to the alliance’s performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, where the INDIA bloc won 43 of the state’s 80 seats.
Misra said the alliance would be taken forward with full strength for the 2027 elections.
She rejected the suggestion that the Congress’s organisational appointments represented caste or religious politics, saying the party had not followed such politics and would continue to focus on strengthening the country and protecting the Constitution.
Her father, Pramod Tiwari, expressed confidence in her leadership and said he believed she would fulfil the responsibility entrusted to her.
The organisational changes come as political parties in Uttar Pradesh prepare for the 2027 Assembly elections, with alliance arrangements and seat-sharing expected to remain significant issues ahead of the polls.
