Days after the Congress’ poll debacle in three Hindi belt states, the party on Saturday replaced Kamal Nath with Jitu Patwari as the Madhya Pradesh Congress unit chief and named former Speaker Charan Das Mahant as the leader of the legislature party in Chhattisgarh.

The party is yet to announce any change in the leadership of the Congress unit in Rajasthan.

This comes months ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In the recently concluded Assembly elections in five states, the Bharatiya Janata Party had emerged victorious in 163 of 230 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 54 out of 90 in Chhattisgarh and 115 out of 199 in Rajasthan. The Congress only won in Telangana, defeating the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi by bagging 64 out of 119 seats. The Zoram People’s Movement clinched 27 out of 40 Assembly seats in Mizoram.

On Saturday, All India Congress Committee General Secretary KC Venugopal stated that Patwari was appointed the party’s Madhya Pradesh unit president with immediate effect. Umang Singhar, a four-time MLA, was appointed the Congress Legislature Party leader in the Assembly and 38-year-old Hemant Katare was named the deputy leader.

“The party appreciates the contributions of outgoing PCC [Pradesh Congress Committee] president, Shri Kamal Nath,” letter a letter by Venugopal.

A leader from the Other Backward Classes, Patwari has been given the reigns in the state despite him losing the Assembly elections.

In 2018, when Nath was appointed Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee chief, Patwari was named the unit’s working president. After Venugopal’s announcement, Nath took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to congratulate Patwari, Singhar and Katare.

In Chhattisgarh, the Congress has overlooked former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and asked Mahant, an OBC leader, to take charge as the legislature party leader.

Deepak Baij will continue as the president of the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee, according to a letter by Venugopal.

Mahant has taken charge of the Chhattisgarh unit of the party six times in the past, including his stints as the working and acting president, reported The Hindu. He was also reportedly a contender for the chief ministerial post after the 2018 Assembly elections.