Amarinder Singh appointed new Punjab PCC chief

Former chief minister Capt. Amarinder Singh was on Friday appointed as the new Punjab Congress chief and AICC general secretary Ambika Soni was made the head of the campaign committee in a major reshuffle of the party’s Punjab unit ahead of the 2017 Assembly polls in the state.

A release issued by AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi here said Congress president Sonia Gandhi has appointed Capt. Amarinder Singh, MP, as president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee with immediate effect. Capt. Singh would be the party’s chief ministerial candidate irrespective of whether or not it will be formally announced by the Congress high command. He replaces Mr Pratap Singh Bajwa, whose resignation was accepted by party president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday.

The release said Ms Soni, a former Union minister, was appointed as the chairperson of the campaign committee for the 2017 Punjab Assembly polls.

“I am overwhelmed and I am grateful to both the Congress president and vice-president for having chosen me. It is a sensitive task,” Capt. Singh said.