Shinde is Cong campaign panel chief

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday appointed Union Minister Sushilkumar Shinde as chairman of the Campaign Committee for the ensuing Assembly elections in Maharashtra. Besides being a Dalit leader,the former chief minister could also help in better coordination between the Congress and the NCP given his good rapport with Sharad Pawar.

Balasaheb Vikhe Patil,who was the party’s election in-charge in the last Lok Sabha elections,apparently fell out of favour with the party high command for mishandling the party’s alliance partners. The Republican Party of India (RPI),which was reported to have held Patil responsible for its chief Ramdas Athawale’s defeat from the Shirdi Lok Sabha seat,recently joined the Third Front in the state. Patil has also been opposing any alliance with the NCP in the forthcoming Assembly elections.