In a strategic move ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has appointed new party chiefs for Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Punjab, with two of them having strong Congress backgrounds.

The announcement was made by BJP president JP Nadda following extensive brainstorming sessions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his Council of Ministers, and party leaders. Several senior BJP leaders and Union Ministers interacted on Tuesday with Nadda here at BJP headquarters.

Ministers meeting Nadda included Nirmala  Sitharaman, Arjun Ram Meghwal and Kiren Rijiju. The party is contemplating more organisational changes in other States like Karnataka, Kerala, Gujarat, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir. A Cabinet reshuffle may relieve many senior leaders for party work.

A beginning has already been made by appointing Union Minister G Kishan Reddy as Telangana BJP chief, they said.

Reddy replaced Bandi Sanjay Kumar, who was perceived to have difficulty in uniting all party leaders in the State.

Sanjay Kumar, a BJP MP from Karimnagar, had completed his second term as BJP president.

Reports indicated that Sanjay Kumar may be reassigned as a Minister of State in the Union Cabinet.

Reddy, who was promoted to Cabinet rank and currently serves as the Minister of Culture and Tourism, enjoys the confidence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. With Telangana heading for assembly polls later this year, Reddy is expected to play a pivotal role in the BJP’s campaign in the State.

D Purandeshwari, daughter of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister NT Rama Rao, has been appointed as the BJP’s State president for Andhra Pradesh. This move aligns with the BJP’s efforts to form an alliance with TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu. Incidentally, Purandeshwari is also Naidu’s sister-in-law. She was previously elected as an MP from Visakhapatnam and had been associated with the Congress, serving as a Minister in the Manmohan Singh Government. With her political legacy, Purandeshwari is expected to expand the party’s political base, particularly in Northern Andhra Pradesh.

Former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi has been appointed as Jharkhand’s State party president, while Sunil Jakhar is the new State party president for Punjab, according to a statement from the BJP.

Marandi replaces Deepak Prakash to bolster the BJP’s presence among tribal communities in the face of a strong coalition of alliances consisting of JMM, Congress and RJD, led by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who hails from a tribal background.

In Punjab, Sunil Jakhar has been appointed as the State party president, replacing Ashwani Sharma. Jakhar, who quit the Congress last year and joined the BJP, had previously served as the chief of the Congress’s Punjab unit from 2017 to 2021. The BJP aims to revitalize the party and expand its organization in the border State, primarily at the expense of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the opposition Congress. Jakhar is considered an adept organizational leader with a deep grassroots connection and a substantial electoral following. After the exit of the Shiromani Akali Dal, a Punjab-based party, the BJP plans to contest the upcoming elections in Punjab independently.