Sounding the Assembly poll bugle, BJP on Wednesday named Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan as party's election in-charge of the politically-sensitive Uttar Pradesh while his cabinet colleague Gajendra Shekhawat, Pralhad Joshi, Bhupendra Yadav and Devendra Fadnavis have been tasked with Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa.
The appointments were cleared by BJP president J P Nadda. Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa are slated for Assembly polls early next year.
Pradhan will be assisted by seven co-incharges, including Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur, Ministers of State Sobha Karandlaje, Arjunram Meghwal and Annapurna Devi, Rajya Sabha MPs Saroj Pande and Vivek Thakur and former Haryana Minister Captain Abhimanyu.
The BJP also announced six region-wise in-charges --- Lok Sabha MP Sanjay Bhatia will look after Western UP, while Brij will have Bihar MLA Sanjeev Chaurasiya as its in-charge. BJP National Secretary Y Satyakumar will be Awadh in-charge, while senior leader Sudhir Gupta will be Kanpur in-charge. National Secretary Arvind Menon will look after Gorakhpur and UP co-incharge Sunil Ojha will lead Kashi region.
In Punjab, Shekhawat will be assisted by Union Housing Minister Hardeep Puri, and Minister of State Meenakshi Lekhi and Lok Sabha MP Vinod Chawla as co-incharges.
West Bengal Lok Sabha MP Locket Chatterjee and National spokesperson Sardar RP Singh will be co-incharge in Uttarakhand, assisting Joshi.
Yadav will have Minister of State Pratibha Bhowmik and Assam Minister Ashok Singhal as co-incharges in Manipur.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Fadnavis will be assisted by Union Minister G Kishan Reddy and Minister of State Darshana Jardosh.
The BJP is looking to retain Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur in the polls while it is hoping for a better performance in Punjab where it is left without an ally after Akali Dal snapped ties with the NDA over the three contentious farm bills.
A recent survey by ABP-CVoter claimed that BJP is likely to win UP, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur while its prospects in Punjab appeared to be dim. In UP, it is predicted to lose some 50-60 seats from 312 while it is likely to improve its tally and have a comfortable majority in Goa and Manipur.
BJP may also lose some seats in Uttarkhand but would not have trouble in forming a government, the survey has claimed, adding that Congress could lose Punjab, which it is ruling at present.
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