In Major Reshuffle, BJP Appoints New State Unit Presidents Ahead Of 2024 Lok Sabha Elections

New Delhi: In a major organisational rejig, the BJP on Tuesday named Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, Sunil Jakhar and Babulal Marandi as presidents of its state units in Telangana, Punjab and Jharkhand respectively. In a statement, the party also announced former Union minister D Purandeswari as its new Andhra Pradesh president and brought in OBC leader Etela Rajender as its election management committee chairperson in the poll-bound Telangana. 

Etela Rajender served as the first finance minister of Telangana and began his political career with K Chandrashekar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi and stayed with it till 2021, after which he joined the BJP. D Purandeswari, the newly appointed Andhra BJP president, is the daughter of Telugu Desam Party founder and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister NT Rama Rao.

 

G Kishan Reddy has been appointed as BJP state president of Telangana, D Purandeshwari appointed as the state president of Andhra Pradesh BJP, former CM Babulal Marandi becomes the state president of Jharkhand, Sunil Jakhar - the party's state president of Punjab. pic.twitter.com/j4QSxZbFim — ANI (@ANI) July 4, 2023

 

The development highlights the BJP's emphasis to set its house in order in Telangana where many relatively new but powerful entrants to the party were against the leadership of Bandi Sanjay Kumar. Sources said Kumar may be inducted as a minister in the central government in a reshuffle in the coming days.

Sunil Kumar Jakhar, the former MP who quit Congress in May last year claiming he wanted to support "nationalism, unity and brotherhood in Punjab", will now lead the saffron party in Punjab. Jakhar replaces Ashwani Sharma while Babulal Marandi comes in the place of Deepak Prakash. Marandi was the first Chief Minister of Jharkhand and is currently the Leader of the Opposition in the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly.

Besides, Kiran Kumar Reddy, the last Chief Minister of the United Andhra Pradesh before the formation of the Telangana state, has been appointed as a member of the party's national executive committee.

The rejig is significant in the primacy given to leaders who have joined the BJP from other parties. Jakhar and Rajender left the Congress and the BRS respectively to join the BJP. Purandeswari was in Congress and a minister in the UPA government. By elevating Rajender, an influential regional leader, and removing Kumar, the party has sent a positive signal to those looking for greener pastures in the state's triangular politics.

The changes also suggest that the BJP has put its faith in the tribal leader Marandi, a former chief minister, to take on the rival alliance headed by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, also a tribal.

With the Congress seeking to rally back to reclaim some of its lost ground in the southern state of Telangana, the BJP is making a determined push to be the main challenger to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi and is working overtime to augment its ranks by persuading local satraps of other parties to switch over.

With the BJP not being traditionally strong in Telangana, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh, its projection of these relative outsiders is unlikely to draw much opposition from its cadres and can help its expansion exercise, sources said.

The development is also likely to further fuel the speculation about a Cabinet rejig with the upcoming assembly polls in states like Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh likely to be a factor besides the BJP's bid to give allies more representation.

.Meanwhile, the saffron party has also called a meeting of all the state presidents, state general secretaries, and state in-charges on July 7. BJP national president JP Nadda and National General Secretary BL Santosh will preside over this meeting. Importantly, a meeting of the Union Cabinet meeting is also likely to take place at 10:30 AM on Wednesday, said BJP sources.