Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh Congress is grappling with a wave of unrest following the release of its much-anticipated list of 71 district presidents on Saturday.

What was intended as an organisational overhaul has instead triggered protests, resignations, and widespread resentment across key districts, including Bhopal, Indore, Ujjain and Burhanpur, according to an NDTV report.

The most prominent flashpoint has emerged in Raghogarh, where loyalists of former minister Jaivardhan Singh, son of ex-chief minister Digvijay Singh, held late-night demonstrations.

Singh, who has now been named Guna district president, is being viewed as politically sidelined.

His supporters burnt an effigy of state Congress president Jitu Patwari and shouted slogans, accusing the leadership of diminishing Singh’s stature.

In the state capital, the decision to reappoint Praveen Saxena as district president has sparked a backlash.

Former district president Monu Saxena, who was also in the running, publicly voiced his discontent on social media, alleging that the leadership had ignored senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s call for rebuilding the party with fresh faces.

Indore has also become a site of resistance, with newly appointed city president Chintu Chouksey and district president Vipin Wankhede facing opposition. Former women’s wing chief Sakshi Shukla Daga openly expressed her anger online.

Similar discontent is brewing in Ujjain (rural), where workers are opposing Mahesh Parmar’s appointment, and in Satna, where the selection of Siddharth Kushwaha has drawn criticism.

The disquiet has already resulted in resignations. Hemant Patil, district spokesperson and president of the Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Cell, quit his post in protest.

In Burhanpur, supporters of senior leader Arun Yadav reportedly convened a closed-door meeting after their camp was denied representation.

According to the list, 21 district presidents have been retained. Of the 71 appointees, 37 belong to reserved categories: 35 from general, 12 from OBC, 10 from ST, eight from SC, four women, and three from minority communities.

Notably, six MLAs, eight former MLAs and three former ministers have been assigned district responsibilities—a move that has frustrated many workers, who argue that grassroots leaders were overlooked.

Though the exercise was finalised under the supervision of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, party insiders maintain that former chief minister Kamal Nath continues to wield influence. At least 10 of his loyalists figure in the new list.

With prominent leaders like Omkar Singh Markam, Jaivardhan Singh, Nilay Daga and Priyavrat Singh included, the reshuffle has sharpened rather than softened the party’s internal divides.

At a time when the Madhya Pradesh Congress hoped to present a united front, it instead finds itself mired in factional discord.