1 min readNew DelhiJun 27, 2026 06:33 AM ISTThe Congress SC Department’s chairperson Rajendra Pal Gautam. (Source: Express Archives)THE CONGRESS on Friday announced fresh faces as AICC in-charges for three states — Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Odisha.In Uttar Pradesh, the party appointed its Scheduled Caste department chairperson Rajendra Pal Gautam as AICC in-charge, in line with its strategy to reach out to Dalits in the state.While Gautam replaces Avinash Pande in UP, Odisha AICC in-charge Ajay Kumar Lallu has been replaced by Seva Dal chief organiser Lalji Desai. AICC secretary Sanjay Dutt, who hails from Maharashtra, has been promoted as Haryana in-charge. He replaces B K Hariprasad, who was recently appointed Karnataka Congress president.Former Indian Youth Congress president Srinivas B V, who rose to fame during the Covid pandemic as “oxygen man”, has been appointed the chief organiser of Congress Seva Dal, a frontal organisation of the party.Insiders say the appointments have a stamp of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s resolve to ensure representation and induct fresh faces in key organisational roles.© The Indian Express Pvt LtdAsad Rehman is with the national bureau of The Indian Express and covers politics and policy focusing on religious minorities in India. A journalist for over eight years, Rehman moved to this role after covering Uttar Pradesh for five years for The Indian Express. During his time in Uttar Pradesh, he covered politics, crime, health, and human rights among other issues. He did extensive ground reports and covered the protests against the new citizenship law during which many were killed in the state. During the Covid pandemic, he did extensive ground reporting on the migration of workers from the metropolitan cities to villages in Uttar Pradesh. He has also covered some landmark litigations, including the Babri Masjid-Ram temple case and the ongoing Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute. Prior to that, he worked on The Indian Express national desk for three years where he was a copy editor. Rehman studied at La Martiniere, Lucknow and then went on to do a bachelor's degree in History from Ramjas College, Delhi University. He also has a Masters degree from the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. ... Read More Tags:CongressAdvertisementLoading Recommendations...Advertisement