Kamal Nath Replaced, Jitu Patwari Is New Madhya Pradesh Congress Chief

The party had won just 66 seats in the 230-member Assembly in the recent elections.

Days after its drubbing in the Madhya Pradesh elections, the Congress has replaced senior leader and former chief minister Kamal Nath as the state unit chief with Jitu Patwari. The selection of Mr Patwari, who lost to a BJP candidate from the Sau Assembly seat with a margin of over 35,000 votes, is being seen as the party's attempt to make a fresh start in the crucial heartland state ahead of the all-important Lok Sabha elections next year.

Despite the loss in Chhattisgarh, however, the Congress has decided to retain Deepak Baij as the state unit chief.