Congress appoints Bhupen Borah chief of Assam unit

NEW DELHI: Congress on Saturday appointed Bhupen Borah as chief of its Assam unit, replacing party Rajya Sabha member Ripun Bora for the post.

Continuing the organisational revamp in various units, a party statement said Congress president Sonia Gandhi has appointed Bhupen Bora as president of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) and also named three working presidents -- Rana Goswami, Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha and Jakir Hussain Sikdar.

The organisational changes in the state unit came weeks after the party's defeat in the assembly polls for which it entered into a grand alliance with the Badruddin Ajmal-led AIUDF and some other parties but failed to stop the BJP from coming back to power.

The party appreciates the contributions of outgoing APCC president Ripun Bora, the statement said.

Bhupen Borah and Rana Goswami are being relieved from their present responsibilities as All India Congress Committee secretaries, it said.

In another appointment, Loken Singh was appointed interim president of the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee with immediate effect till a full-time chief is named.

Also, the party named Arya Kumar Jnanendra as chief organiser for the Odisha Pradesh Congress Seva Dal.