BJP appoints Pralhad Joshi, Bhupender Yadav in-charge for Rajasthan, MP polls

Former Union minister Prakash Javadekar and another senior party leader Om Prakash Mathur was made poll in-charge for Telangana and Chhattisgarh respectively.

Union ministers Pralhad Joshi (R) and Bhupender Yadav. Credit: PTI Photos

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday announced election in-charges in four poll-bound states. Pralhad Joshi is now the in-charge in Rajasthan, while senior party leader Om Mathur will take care of affairs in Chhattisgarh. Union minister Bhupendra Yadav will be the in-charge in Madhya Pradesh and Prakash Javadekar will be the in-charge in Telangana.

The announcement came even as party president JP Nadda held meetings throughout the day with senior functionaries from North Indian states to work on party strategies in the upcoming months, a day after a similar meet of Eastern states took place in Guwahati.

In Rajasthan, the party also announced former Gujarat deputy CM Nitin Patel and Haryana MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi as co-incharges. Union ministers Mansukh Mandaviya and Ashwini Vaishnaw were announced as co-incharges in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh respectively. In Telangana, Sunil Bansal, who was formerly the state in-charge, has been appointed co-incharge for the upcoming polls. All the four states and Mizoram will head to the polls in the later part of the year.

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The party is wedged in a tight fight in Rajasthan where it seeks to win the mandate from the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government, even as it looks to keep its flock together. To this end, the party high command had held several deliberations with former CM Vasundhara Raje, and given her prominent engagements.

“It now remains to be seen how the party goes forward in the election campaign,” said a senior lawmaker from the party’s Rajasthan unit.

In Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP lost the last election but came to power after Jyotiraditya Scindia walked in with 22 legislators, it is seeking a re-election even as it battles anti-incumbency.

The party recently rejigged its unit in Telangana, appointing Union minister G Kishen Reddy as the state president. The party’s Chhattisgarh unit has also seen heightened its activity, with Home Minister Amit Shah and PM Modi travelling to the state on Thursday and Friday respectively. Shah discussed a roadmap with leaders during his visit to win the state which has a Congress government currently.