India's BJP Makes Massive Organizational Changes With Eye on Upcoming State and 2024 National Polls
06:36 GMT 10.09.2022 (Updated: 07:26 GMT 10.09.2022)
© AFP 2023 / DIBYANGSHU SARKAR
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With an eye on the upcoming state polls and the 2024 national elections, PM Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has made some significant changes in the organization. The focus of this recent reshuffle is largely to win back states where the opposition is currently in power.
As opposition leaders kickstarted their strategy meetings for the 2024 general elections in India last month, the BJP started its own preparations for the challenges ahead as the party named new in-charges for states going to polls in the next 18 months or so.
Among those who have been given the responsibility of spearheading the party's campaigns are several former state chiefs and former federal ministers.
The changes announced by BJP chief J.P. Nadda mention that former Gujarat state chief Vijay Rupani will be in charge of the party's affairs in the northern state of Punjab.
At present, Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is in power in Punjab and the BJP was routed in last year's state polls.
Punjab is a massive challenge for the BJP, considering the party doesn't have much presence in the state's rural areas. The BJP was an ally of the Akali Dal in Punjab but their alliance broke down ahead of last year's state elections in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party could only win two out of a total of 117 constituencies on offer.
Former Tripura state chief Biplab Kumar Deb will handle Haryana. In the 2019 national elections, the BJP won all the 10 parliamentary constituencies in the state but couldn't repeat its performance in the state polls a few months later.
Currently, the BJP is ruling the state in an alliance with the Jannayak Janta Party, headed by Dushyant Chautala.
Former federal minister Prakash Javadekar, who was dropped from PM Modi's cabinet last year, is in charge of the party in Kerala. Over the years, the party has failed to make a mark in Kerala's politics, and at present, it doesn't have a single lawmaker in the state assembly.
Another former federal minister, Mahesh Sharma, will now function as the party's main man in Tripura, a state which heads to polls early next year.
Meanwhile, party general secretary Vinod Tawde will now oversee Bihar.
Until last month, the BJP was a senior partner in the Bihar government headed by Janata Dal (United) or JD-U's Nitish Kumar. But Kumar severed ties with the BJP in the state and went on to form a new government with Tejashwi Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress.
Nitish Kumar is now spearheading the opposition's efforts to create an anti-BJP front to bring an end to the ruling party's tenure in the 2024 national elections.
Among those who have been given the responsibility of spearheading the party's campaigns are several former state chiefs and former federal ministers.
The changes announced by BJP chief J.P. Nadda mention that former Gujarat state chief Vijay Rupani will be in charge of the party's affairs in the northern state of Punjab.
At present, Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is in power in Punjab and the BJP was routed in last year's state polls.
Punjab is a massive challenge for the BJP, considering the party doesn't have much presence in the state's rural areas. The BJP was an ally of the Akali Dal in Punjab but their alliance broke down ahead of last year's state elections in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party could only win two out of a total of 117 constituencies on offer.
Former Tripura state chief Biplab Kumar Deb will handle Haryana. In the 2019 national elections, the BJP won all the 10 parliamentary constituencies in the state but couldn't repeat its performance in the state polls a few months later.
Currently, the BJP is ruling the state in an alliance with the Jannayak Janta Party, headed by Dushyant Chautala.
Former federal minister Prakash Javadekar, who was dropped from PM Modi's cabinet last year, is in charge of the party in Kerala. Over the years, the party has failed to make a mark in Kerala's politics, and at present, it doesn't have a single lawmaker in the state assembly.
Another former federal minister, Mahesh Sharma, will now function as the party's main man in Tripura, a state which heads to polls early next year.
Meanwhile, party general secretary Vinod Tawde will now oversee Bihar.
Until last month, the BJP was a senior partner in the Bihar government headed by Janata Dal (United) or JD-U's Nitish Kumar. But Kumar severed ties with the BJP in the state and went on to form a new government with Tejashwi Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress.
Nitish Kumar is now spearheading the opposition's efforts to create an anti-BJP front to bring an end to the ruling party's tenure in the 2024 national elections.
