BJP reshuffle: Tawde, Chugh get BJP poll duties

Nitin Nabin, the BJP national president, reshuffled the party's state in-charge positions on Tuesday. Vinod Tawde, the party's national general secretary and a Rajya Sabha MP, was appointed in-charge of Uttar Pradesh. Jagdish Ishwarbhai Patel, a national secretary, will serve as the state's co-in-charge. Satish Poonia, a national general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP, was appointed as the state in-charge of Punjab.

Tarun Chugh, an MP and the BJP’s national headquarters in-charge, took over the role of Gujarat in-charge. These appointments will be effective immediately, with further state in-charge appointments to follow. The current Prabhari arrangement in those states will remain unchanged for now. These organizational changes are part of Nabin's ongoing efforts to restructure the party's state-level leadership, which began a day earlier when Nabin introduced his new team of national office-bearers.

This broader organizational reset also included bringing back leaders like Smriti Irani and Ram Madhav to key positions. The new team comprises a mix of experienced leaders and fresh faces, with an emphasis on election experience as the BJP prepares for upcoming state elections and the 2029 Lok Sabha election. Tawde's appointment in Uttar Pradesh is particularly significant as the BJP prepares for the 2027 Assembly election in the state, where it suffered a significant setback in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Tawde's experience in handling BJP election campaigns and organizational responsibilities is expected to bolster the party's ground-level organisation efforts in the state.