Ajay Rai, who had previously chaired the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee, told journalists on Saturday that nobody had approached him with a request to step aside, and that he planned to remain an active party member working toward its interests. The statement followed Congress's decision to appoint Aradhana Mishra Mona as the new head of the state unit ahead of the Assembly elections.

Rai told reporters that the matter of his stepping down had not come up in any party conversation, and that he intended to continue acting in line with the directions the party had given him. He described his current role as one of active service to the party, bound by its directives and committed to carrying out whatever guidance it provides.

No request for a resignation had been made, he said, and he expressed readiness to follow whichever direction the party chooses, describing that alignment as full and without reservation. Rai pledged to put in greater effort on behalf of the party, working around the clock if needed.

He stated his intention to build up the party's presence across Uttar Pradesh, expressing the view that Congress would eventually take power in the state, with party workers uniting behind that effort. He reinforced that position by stating that the organisation intended to establish a Congress-led government there.

Rai, a figure with an established presence in Congress's Uttar Pradesh operations, put forward the view that the party's move carried no shortcoming, framing it as an organisational determination rather than any individual failing. He said a ruling on the matter rested with the party, and that whatever direction the party's decision took, those involved accepted it without reservation.

He told reporters that the directives passed down from Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, along with the responsibility entrusted to him by Priyanka Gandhi, had been carried out as expected, and that the work would continue with the same commitment going forward.

Rai noted that removing the Bharatiya Janata Party from power ranks among Congress's openly declared objectives, a commitment the party has formally put on record through its own stated position. Speaking to party members, Rai urged unity within the organisation and expressed support for Rahul Gandhi, framing loyalty to both the leader and the party as the direction members should take. Addressing workers directly, he conveyed that no grievances exist on any side.

Rai also indicated that a further review of the matter by the party remained possible. Footage captured Rai visibly moved in the moments following his exit from the state Congress president role.

Aradhana Mishra Mona has been named to lead the Pradesh Congress Committee in Uttar Pradesh, with the party installing a new figure at the helm of its state organisation as Assembly elections draw closer.