BJP appoints new state in-charges for Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Gujarat

BJP national president Nitin Nabin on Tuesday appointed new state in-charges and a co-in-charge for Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat, according to a party press release.

Vinod Tawde, the party’s national general secretary and a Rajya Sabha MP, has been appointed in-charge of Uttar Pradesh. Jagdish Ishwarbhai Patel, a national secretary, will serve as the state’s co-in-charge.

For Punjab, the BJP has appointed national general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Satish Poonia as the state in-charge.

Tarun Chugh, an MP and the BJP’s national headquarters in-charge, has been appointed in-charge of Gujarat. Chugh will continue in his role as national headquarters in-charge.

The appointments will take effect immediately, the party said. It added that appointments for other state in-charges will be made in due course. Until then, the current Prabhari arrangement will continue in those states.

The BJP’s latest organisational changes come as the party continues to restructure its state-level leadership under Nabin, who took charge as the BJP’s national president.

Tuesday’s appointments come a day after the BJP announced Nabin’s new team of national office-bearers, marking a wider organisational reset under the party’s new president.

The BJP on Monday retained Tawde and Sunil Bansal as national general secretaries and appointed Poonia to the same position. Chugh was named Central Office In-charge. The new national team also brought back leaders including Smriti Irani and Ram Madhav to key organisational positions, while Piyush Goyal was appointed national treasurer.

The new team combines experienced organisational leaders with newer faces and comes as the BJP prepares for a series of state elections and looks ahead to the 2029 Lok Sabha election. The organisational exercise is focused on building a team with a mix of experience, younger leaders and election experience.

Tawde’s appointment in Uttar Pradesh comes as the BJP prepares for the 2027 Assembly election in the state.

Nabin has already begun focusing on the party’s ground-level organisation in Uttar Pradesh. He met BJP MPs from the state on Monday to take feedback on caste equations and cadre morale ahead of the Assembly polls.

The BJP’s UP organisation will be under pressure to consolidate its position in the state after the 2024 Lok Sabha election, when the party’s seat tally fell sharply from its 2019 performance.

Tawde brings experience of handling BJP election campaigns and organisational responsibilities at the national level. His appointment places a senior national general secretary directly in charge of the party’s election machinery in the country’s most politically significant state.