Senior Congress leader and former MP from Delhi JP Agarwal is likely to be appointed as the AICC general secretary incharge for poll-bound Punjab by replacing Harish Rawat who will be released for the Assembly poll management in Uttarakhand.

With the Aam Admi Party (AAP) flexing its muscles in both the States, the Congress leadership is taking the challenge seriously to retain Punjab and unseat the faction ridden BJP government in Uttarakhand.

Agarwal is already in the three member AICC panel constituted by party chief Sonia Gandhi to resolve the ongoing tussle between Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and party leader Navjot Singh Sidhu. The other member was Rawat in the capacity of incharge for the State while senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge headed it. Agarwal was earlier appointed as the campaign committee chairman for the just concluded West Bengal assembly elections.

Congress sources said the announcement will be made sooner after which the new Punjab Congress chief will also be appointed. The party has decided to put in a Hindu face to head its unit in Punjab and former Union Minister Manish Tewari and State Minister Vijay Inder Singla are frontrunners, sources said.

Despite being close to the Congress’ first family for last four decades, Agarwal could never make it to the Council of Ministers in successive Congress governments but his appointment as chairman of the Steering Committee for West Bengal came as a surprise to political experts and even leaders.

“So far the party leadership has been banking on the likes of former Union Ministers Ajay Maken, RPN Singh, Mukul Wasnik, Jitin Prasad but now after decimation of the party in electoral politics the leadership is banking more on the old guards as the young guards have become highly ambitious and ready to quit the party for greener pastures after making fortunes from the grand old party,” said a senior Congress leader.

Jitin Prasad who joined BJP early this month was made the party’s Incharge for West Bengal along with Agarwal as team.

The senior party leader said that the public spat between Chief Minister and Sidhu has been damaging party’s electoral prospects and thus the high command decided to depend on party veterans including Agarwal who has in past served as Delhi Congress President, is considered a suave politician and has the ability to handle such crisis given his experience during late Sheila Dikshit’s 15 year regime that had created several factions in the party. Agarwal’s expertise will also be used in garnering the Baniya votes in the State.

In case of Uttarakhand, the State leaders have started pressing for announcement of a CM face and several leaders have put forth the name of former old war horse Harish Rawat who himself had urged the central leadership earlier this year to declare the chief ministerial candidate almost a year in advance of the election scheduled.

“Bring clarity and end confusion among the party workers in the state,” Rawat said . His contention has strengthened following the demise of CLP leader Indira Hridayesh who didn’t support him along with State unit head Pritam Singh.