NEW DELHI: The BJP on Monday unveiled its new team of national office-bearers under party president Nitin Nabin, bringing together experienced leaders and younger faces ahead of a crucial round of Assembly elections.
The new team has 13 national vice-presidents, including former Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, RSS veteran Ram Madhav, former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia, former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat, D Purandeshwari, Bharti Pawar and Tariq Mansoor.
Former Union Minister Smriti Irani has made a comeback as a national general secretary. The eight general secretaries include Satish Poonia, Sanjay Bhatia, Biplab Deb, Sunil Bansal, Vinod Tawde, Gajendra Patel and Harish Dwivedi. RSS veteran BL Santhosh has been retained as national general secretary (Organisation). Shivprakash and Saudan Singh have been named national joint general secretaries (Organisation).
A key change is the appointment of Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal as BJP treasurer. The move could raise questions over whether Goyal will continue in the Union Cabinet, given the BJP’s stated “one man, one post” principle.
In another organisational change, Tarun Chugh has been moved out of the general secretaries’ list and appointed in-charge of the BJP central office. General Secretaries Arun Singh, Dushyant Gautam and Radha Mohan Agarwal have not been retained in the new team.
Dharmendra Pradhan, whose name had been in focus amid speculation over Nabin’s new team, does not figure in the list announced. Pradhan recently resigned as the Union Education Minister following protests by students. Former Union Minister and BJP leader Anurag Thakur has also not found a place in the newly announced organisational team.
The reshuffle assumes significance with Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand among the states scheduled for Assembly elections next year. The new team gives these poll-bound states significant representation, signalling the BJP’s focus on strengthening its organisation ahead of the electoral cycle.
