Shakeel Ahmad Khan, All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary and two-term MLA from Kadwa in Katihar, has been elected as the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader in Bihar, replacing Ajeet Sharma.
Khan, also a former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) president, was declared elected as the CLP leader at a meeting convened by the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) at Sadaquat Ashram on Saturday.
AICC general secretary Tariq Ahwar, AICC in-charge for Bihar Bhakta Charan Das, AICC observer Shaktisinh Gohil and BPCC president Akhilesh Prasad Singh were present in the meeting.
The meeting, which was convened with the purpose of announcing the new CLP leader and chalking out strategy for strengthening the party’s network at the grass root level, was reportedly skipped by 11 out of the total 19 MLAs, including Sharma. However, BPCC media department head Rajesh Kumar Rathore disputed it, saying that only a few MLAs, who were on the assembly committee tour, did not attend.
A senior party official said that change of the CLP face was imminent in keeping with caste equations in the state committee. “Both Akhilesh Prasad Singh and Ajeet Sharma were of the same caste (Bhumihar) and holding key positions. As majority of the positions in the organisations are held by the upper caste leaders, the party has decided to elevate Khan, a minority leader, to the CLP,” he said.
Talking to media persons, party MLC Prem Chandra Mishra said that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had approved Das’s recommendation for Khan’s nomination. “The envelop was opened by AICC observer Gohil in presence of Anwar and other leaders. All MLAs present in the meeting welcomed Khan’s appointment,” said Mishra.
