BJP announces in-charges for Poll-bound state

Griding up the loins for the upcoming Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday announced its state chiefs for the elections, thus, announcing Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Pralhad Joshi, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, and Bhupender Yadav at the helm of the contest in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Manipur respectively.

The national party also drafted in a number of Union Ministers and other leaders as co-in-charges who would be responsible for assisting the in-charges during the campaign, including Union ministers Anurag Singh Thakur, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Shobha Karandlaje, and Annpurna Devi Yadav along with Saroj Pandey, Vivek Thakur and Captain Abhimanyu, confirmed a statement issued.

While the upcoming Uttar Pradesh polls grab all attention, the announcement made by the BJP is significant as it also appointed organizational in-charges for its six regions.

MP Sanjay Bhatia, Bihar MLA Sanjiv Chaurasia, BJP national secretaries Y Satya Kumar and Arvind Menon, UP leader Sunil Ojha and the party's co-treasurer Sudhir Gupta will head the western Uttar Pradesh, Braj, Awadh, Gorakhpur, Kashi, and Kanpur regions respectively.

West Bengal MP Locket Chatterjee and party spokesperson R P Singh are co-in charges for the Uttarakhand polls.

Union minister Pratima Bhoumik and Assam government minister Ashok Singhal will be co-in charges for the Manipur polls, the party statement said.

Union ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and Meenakshi Lekhi have been named co-incharges for the Punjab polls along with MP Vinod Chavda.

The BJP is at the receiving end of the farmers' protests against three farm laws in Punjab, a state which is seen as the most affected by the stir.

The party is in power in UP, Uttarakhand and Manipur and has put at task its best machinery to retain power in the upcoming polls.

The BJP has not named its election minders for Goa, another state which will go the polls along with these four states early next year.