New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday appointed Amit Chavda the new chief of the Gujarat unit, replacing Bharatsinh Solanki three months after the party failed to regain power in the state.

Although the party had gained seats in the December election and Solanki commands respect across the state, the majority felt that a more aggressive and energetic leadership was needed if the Congress were to penetrate the ruling BJP's urban strongholds.

When Solanki, 64, was not given a Rajya Sabha seat earlier this month, it was perceived as a clear hint of the readiness to move beyond his leadership. The reins of the state Congress, however, remained within the same family: Chavda, 41, is Solanki's cousin and a close confidant.

The Congress has trusted the family for long; Bharatsinh's father and former chief minister Madhavsinh Solanki had also led the party.

Madhavsinh Solanki's father-in-law and former Anand MP Ishwarbhai Chavda was a renowned freedom fighter who made significant contributions to the growth of cooperative societies in the region.

The names of Shaktisinh Gohil and Alpesh Thakore also did the rounds, but the party stuck with the Solanki-Chavda clan that has immense influence in the Anand-Kheda region.

While the young and dynamic Alpesh has just joined the Congress, Gohil was ignored because he is from Saurashtra, the region the new Congress legislature party leader Paresh Dhanani also comes from.

Sources said the high command wanted to strike a balance with faces from both Saurashtra and central Gujarat.

Chavda, already a four-term MLA, has won all his elections defying Narendra Modi's sway in the state. A chemical engineer, Chavda used to represent the Borsad Assembly seat but shifted to Anklav, which was created after delimitation.

Rahul has appointed former Maharashtra minister Nitin Raut chairman of the All India Congress Committee's department for Scheduled Castes.Raut will replace former IAS officer K. Raju, who now heads Rahul's secretariat. The OBC department too got a new head, with Tamdhway Sahu replacing K.C. Lenka.