New Delhi, Sep 21 (IANS): The Congress on Saturday appointed Supriya Shrinate, a former Delhi-based journalist and daughter of late Uttar Pradesh MP Harsh Vardhan, as the party spokesperson.

"Sonia Gandhi has approved the appointment of Shrinate as spokesperson of the All India Congress Committee," the party's communications in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala said in a statement.

Shrinate had contested unsuccessfully as a Congress candidate from Uttar Pradesh's Maharajganj parliamentary constituency in the Lok Sabha polls.

In March, the Congress replaced jailed politician Amarmani Tripathi's daughter Tanushree Tripathi with Shrinate as its Lok Sabha candidate from Maharajganj, which was earlier represented by the former journalist's father.

The party faced a major embarrassment when Tanushree Tripathi's name was announced both by the grand old party and the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia led by Mulayam Singh Yadav's brother Shivpal Singh Yadav.

Shrinate's father Harsh Vardhan was also a Congress leader.