NEW DELHI: In view of the assembly elections later this year, the Congress on Tuesday appointed Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel as the senior observers for Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh respectively.
Congress general secretary KC Venugopal in a statement said that party chief Sonia Gandhi has appointed Gehlot as a senior observer for Gujarat. Baghel has been appointed senior observer for Himachal Pradesh, where the assembly elections are due later this year.
Besides Gehlot, the party has named Chhattisgarh Minister TS Singh Deo and Maharashtra leader Milind Deora as an observer for Gujarat.
The party also named former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and senior Punjab leader Partap Singh Bajwa as observers for Himachal Pradesh.
The assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh are crucial for the grand-old party.
In the 2017 Gujarat assembly polls, the Congress gave a tough fight to the ruling BJP, which has been in power in the state since 1995.
While in Himachal Pradesh, the Congress will be contesting the assembly elections without its former chief minister Virbhadra Singh.