Jaipur, May 23 (PTI) Joginder Singh Awana was appointed the Rashtriya Lok Dal's (RLD) Rajasthan unit president on Friday, a month after he joined the party quitting the Congress.

The move signals the party's intent to expand its presence in the state and to position itself as the third major political force after the ruling BJP and the Congress.

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Awana was once considered a close aide of former chief minister Ashok Gehlot.

A former MLA, Awana expressed his gratitude to the RLD leadership for his appointment and said he will work to build a strong organisational structure across Rajasthan.

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"Today, I have been given a big responsibility as the RLD state president. I will sit with senior leaders and workers to chalk out a strategy and begin a statewide tour soon," he told reporters at a press conference.

Awana said he would begin by strengthening the party's presence at the division level, followed by the formation of a state executive and then move towards strengthening assembly and booth-level committees.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)