Santosh is new Sirsa Cong chief

For the first time in Sirsa, the Congress has appointed women to both the district and urban president posts. Santosh Beniwal has been chosen the new district Congress president and Krishna Phogat continues as the urban president.

Santosh is the current sarpanch of Darba Kalan village and is known to be close to senior Congress leader and MP Kumari Selja. Her appointment came as a surprise, especially since many big names, including former MLAs, were in the race for the district chief post. However, the party chose to trust Santosh, recognising her dedication and grassroots connection.

She is also the wife of the brother of Congress MLA Bharat Singh Beniwal from Ellenabad and serves as the national vice-president of the Sarpanch Association.

The Beniwal family has a long-standing political rivalry with the Chautala family. In the recent Assembly election, Bharat Singh Beniwal defeated INLD chief Abhay Chautala.

Santosh Beniwal received the news of her appointment late at night via a phone call from Sirsa MLA Gokul Setia. The announcement sparked celebrations in her village.

About two months ago, a committee visited different constituencies and recommended six names for the post, considering representation from various communities. The selection committee included AICC Secretary M Christopher Tilak, former MLA Shamsher Singh Gogi, Krishna Satrod and Rajveer Verma. Names like Raju Sharma, Rajan Mehta and ex-MLA Amit Sihag were also being discussed.

In her first statement after the appointment, Santosh thanked the party high command and Kumari Selja.