Jairam Ramesh will head the Congress party’s merged communication wing, including social and digital media, the party announced on Thursday.
The merger of different media departments to create a unified new entity is the first major organisational change to be implemented after the Udaipur Chintan Shivir held last month.
A statement issued by general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal said that Mr. Ramesh, 68, will be the All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in charge of communication, publicity and media, including social and digital media.
Randeep Surjewala, the former chairman of the media department, has been relieved of his responsibilities as the media department head but will continue as the general secretary of Karnataka, a State where elections are due in the middle of next year.
Known as a backroom strategist and credited for creating concepts like Congress ki haath aam admi ke saath [The hand of the Congress is with the common people] for the Lok Sabha election of 2004, Mr. Ramesh has been brought in at a time when the party is facing an unprecedented political crisis.
Addressing the Chintan Shivir at Udaipur, former party chief Rahul Gandhi had admitted that if there was one area where the BJP outsmarted the Congress, it was the ability to communicate.
