Lucknow, Aug 17 : The Congress on Thursday appointed Ajay Rai, ex-BJP MLA, as the President of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee, with immediate effect. In a Press note, the party said that it appreciates the contribution of the outgoing PCC President Brijlal Khabri, ex-MP, and all the zonal Presidents. Khabri, incidentally, will be the UPCC President with the shortest tenure -- he lasted only 10 months in office. Ajay Rai began his political career as a member of the BJP's youth wing.In 1996, Rai contested the Assembly elections from the Kolasala seat on a BJP ticket. He defeated the nine-time CPI MLA Udal by a narrow margin of 484 votes. He went on to retain the seat in the 2002 and 2007 elections, defeating Awadhesh Singh of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) by much larger margins. A Bhumihar by caste, he joined the Samajwadi Party in 2009 and contested the Lok Sabha elections against Dr Murli Manohar Joshi from Varanasi. After losing the Lok Sabha elections, he contested the Kolasala by-elections as an independent. Ajay Rai had contested against Modi on the Varanasi seat in the Lok Sabha elections 2019. The Congress leader lost to Modi with a huge margin and received only 14 per cent share of the total votes. Ajay Rai has been in the news for his rivalry with gangster Mukhtar Ansari who allegedly shot dead Rai's brother. Rai was elevated as regional president by Priyanka Gandhi last year. Rai now faces the herculean task of mobilising a faction-ridden Congress, bringing back the veterans and enthusing the cadres before the Lok Sabha elections. /IANS