Rohan Gupta is new Congress social media head, had led 2017 Gujarat campaign

Gupta was part of Congress efforts to professionalise its media management strategies

Gujarat election (File) Rohan Gupta and Sonal Patel | Janak Bhatt

Months after the Congress party's social media framework appeared to flounder after the abrupt resignation of Divya Spandana, the grand old party has appointed Rohan Gupta as the chairman of its social media department.

The Congress on Saturday tweeted a letter from party general secretary K.C. Venugopal publicising the appointment of Gupta with immediate effect. Gupta had been a media coordinator for the Congress.

Gupta had made headlines in 2017 when he led the Congress party's social media team for the Gujarat Assembly elections that year. The Congress social media team had publicised the Vikas gando thayo che (development has gone berserk) theme during campaigning for those elections, which challenged the BJP's dominance of the digital narrative. Vikas gando thayo che went viral in Gujarat as a symbol of criticism of the BJP's rule. The 2017 elections marked the best performance for the Congress in nearly two decades in Gujarat, restricting the BJP to 99 seats in the 182-member Assembly.

Earlier this year, Gupta was also part of efforts by the Congress to 'professionalise' its media management strategies by holding tests for people wanting to be spokespersons.

Along with the likes of Pawan Khera and Nikhil Alva, Gupta had been considered a prominent candidate to take the post of Congress social media chief after Spandana's departure.