The Congress on Thursday named actor-turned-politician its party chief in Uttar Pradesh ahead of state elections in 2017. Babbar has been a member of the party since 2008 after leaving the state’s ruling Samajwadi Party. He is a Rajya Sabha member from Uttarakhand. Babbar is also spokesperson for the Congress, NDTV reported. He lost the 2014 Lok Sabha election from Ghaziabad, which was won by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s VK Singh.

The party also named three state vice presidents – Raja Ram Pal, Rajesh Mishra and Imran Masood. The Congress has not announced its chief ministerial candidate yet, though reports suggested former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit could be in the running for the post.

The announcement came amid rumours that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra might have a bigger role to play in the upcoming elections, after she had an hour-long meeting with party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad. However, Azad said that she will campaign in Rae Bareli and Amethi Assembly seats, which are represented by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi respectively.