New Delhi, Jun 6 (IANS): Initiating the process of change after the Uttar Pradesh rout, Congress president Sonia Gandhi Wednesday named Pradeep Mathur as the new legislative party leader in the state assembly.

The appointment will take effect with immediate effect, Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said in a statement here.

Mathur, who represents Mathura city, replaces loyalist Pramod Tiwari, who has been holding the post since 1991, the longest for any Congress Legislature Party leader in the party.

A Kayastha by caste, Mathur is a fourth term legislator.

In the 2012 assembly polls, the Congress could increase its tally in the 403-member house only marginally from 22 seats in 2007 to 28 despite a high-pitched campaign by Rahul Gandhi.

Reviving the grand old party in politically important UP, which sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha, is a priority for Rahul Gandhi, who represents Amethi constituency in the lower house.