Itanagar:
Senior Congress leader Padi Richo has been appointed as the president of Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC).
Mr Richo replaces Mukut Mithi after the latter was elected to Rajya Sabha for a second consecutive term.
According to a party release in Itanagar today, Congress President Sonia Gandhi approved Mr Richo's appointment yesterday in New Delhi.
Born on August 22, 1965, at Ziro in Lower Subansiri district, Mr Richo has held many important organisational positions in the party right from the grassroots level.
Apart from being a Cabinet minister and MLA from Ziro Hapoli Assembly constituency, Mr Richo has also been a member of the All India Congress Committee, general secretary and vice president of Pradesh Congress Committee, national executive member of Indian Youth Congress and convener (North East) of Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), among others.
He has also been president of the INTUC state unit since 2004.
While extending his gratitude to the Congress chief, Mr Richo said that strengthening the party in the state would be his foremost priority.
He also called for better co-ordination between the party and the government and said he would work in close co-ordination with Chief Minister Nabam Tuki with a view to fulfilling that objective.
"I am sure that the rank and file (of Congress) will work with unity and a common sense of purpose to further the cause of the party in our state," he said.
Mr Tuki, who is also the leader of the Congress Legislature Party, congratulated Richo on his appointment, as did AICC General Secretary in-charge of Arunachal Pradesh, Luizinho Faleiro, the release added.