Bengaluru : The All India Congress Committee (AICC) on Wednesday named seven-time MLA and former Minister D.K. Shivakumar for the post of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president.

For the first time, it had appointed three working presidents — Eshwar Khandre, Satish Jarkiholi, and Saleem Ahmmed.

Mr. Shivakumar, 57, is said to be the choice of AICC interim president Sonia Gandhi. His appointment is seen as a resolve to galvanise the Congress from the village-level to the State-level.

He succeeds Dinesh Gundu Rao, who resigned following the party’s poor show in byelections to 15 Legislative Assembly constituencies and Lok Sabha elections in 2019.

While the party high command continued with Eshwar Khandre as the working president, it appointed two more persons for the same post.

M. Narayanaswamy and Ajay Singh are the chief whip of the party in the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly respectively. Mr. Ajay Singh is the son of former Chief Minister late N. Dharam Singh.

Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will continue as the Congress Legislature Party leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, the AICC said.