Digvijaya Singh removed as Goa, Karnataka in-charge: Congress

New Delhi: The Congress replaced General Secretary Digvijaya Singh as in-charge of poll-bound Karnataka and given charge to party MP K.C. Venugopal. Singh is also removed from Goa, where it failed to form a government despite emerging as the single-largest party. Chella Kumar has been named in charge of Goa. Party Secretary Amit Deshmukh will assist Kumar. Interestingly in Goa, Congress failed to form a government despite emerging as the single-largest party. A press release issued by the Congress party on Saturday said that four party Secretaries - Manickam Tagore, P.C. Vishnunadh, Madhu Yashki Goud and Sake Sailjanath - will assist Venugopal. "Congress President Sonia Gandhi has assigned the task of looking after Karnataka and Goa affairs to new AICC teams," a Congress release said, reported IANS. In the first half of 2018, elections will be held in the Karnataka assembly. The Congress is in power in the state. In Goa, the Congress failed to form the government despite emerging as the largest single party after the assembly elections. BJP, which had won lesser seats, managed to retain power with the help of smaller parties. Digvijaya Singh faced flak for the outcome. Interestingly, Manohar Parrikar "thanked" him for failing to cobble up a majority. Parrikar gave up the Defence Minister's post to go back to Goa and become the Chief Minister. Vishwajit Rane, son of senior Congress leader and ex-Chief Minister Pratapsing Rane, who had quit the party over the failure to form a government and joined the BJP, had also accused Digvijaya Singh of committing blunders. Rane is newly-elected legislator.