With 'Ganesh Pooja', Jyotiraditya Scindia takes over as Congress general secretary of Uttar Pradesh west

Senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday took charge as the All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge for Uttar Pradesh West with a "resolve to strengthen the party in the state".

Mr Scindia's appointment was made along with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who was made the general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh East, on January 23. Eastern Uttar Pradesh is home to the constituencies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Soon after assuming the new charge at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi, Mr Scindia performed a "Ganesh pooja". He later met some party workers, including those from western Uttar Pradesh.

Mr Scindia shared a video of the prayer ceremony on Twitter and said, "Took over as Congress general secretary after doing ''Ganesh pooja'' at the AICC office, with the resolve of strengthening the party in the state."

He said the Congress has a good opportunity to come back in the reckoning in Uttar Pradesh by winning a number of Lok Sabha seats to form the government at the Centre and then in the state in 2022.

The scion of the erstwhile royal family of Gwalior, Mr Scindia has been entrusted with the onerous task of strengthening the Congress in western Uttar Pradesh, where the party did not win any seat in the last Lok Sabha elections.

His skills will be put to test in the Hindi heartland state in uniting the party cadres and putting up a good show by winning a few crucial seats in upcoming general elections.

One of the main contenders for the chief minister's post in Madhya Pradesh after the assembly elections last year, he settled for a central role along with Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

Mr Scindia (48), an MP from Guna in Madhya Pradesh, is already the party's chief whip in Lok Sabha.

-PTI