Archive · 2 Oct 2026
Aradhana Mishra Replaces Ajay Rai As UP Congress Chief
The Congress party has chosen Aradhana Mishra to lead its Uttar Pradesh unit.
She replaces Ajay Rai as state president.
Mishra is an elected representative from Rampur Khas in Pratapgarh.
She has won that Assembly seat three times.
Her father, Pramod Tiwari, represented the same constituency nine times before moving to the Rajya Sabha.
Mishra has also led the Congress group in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly since 2019.
Imran Masood has been named working president.
The changes are part of the party’s preparations for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh elections.
The Congress appointed three-time Rampur Khas MLA Aradhana Mishra as Uttar Pradesh unit president, replacing Ajay Rai.
Mishra is the daughter of veteran Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Pramod Tiwari.
She first won Rampur Khas in a 2014 bypoll and retained the seat in 2017 and 2022.
Mishra became the Congress Legislature Party leader in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in 2019.
Congress MP Imran Masood was appointed working president as the party restructures its organisation ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
- Who
- Aradhana Mishra was appointed Uttar Pradesh Congress president, while Imran Masood was named working president.
- What
- The Congress replaced Ajay Rai as its Uttar Pradesh state chief and changed its state organisation.
- When
- The appointment was announced on October 2, 2026, ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
- Where
- The changes concern the Congress organisation in Uttar Pradesh; Mishra represents Rampur Khas in Pratapgarh.
- Why
- The Congress said the changes were part of restructuring its organisational strategy before the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
- New state president
- Aradhana Mishra
- Replaced
- Ajay Rai
- Working president
- Imran Masood, Congress MP from Saharanpur
- Assembly constituency
- Rampur Khas, Pratapgarh
- Electoral record
- Mishra won Rampur Khas in 2014, 2017 and 2022
- Previous leadership role
- Congress Legislature Party leader in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly since 2019
- Election focus
- Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections scheduled for 2027
