Eyes on polls, BJP inducts two Muslims, Antony’s son in Nadda’s team

Among veterans, Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan could not make it to the list

NEW DELHI | Updated: 29 July, 2023 5:40 pm IST

Tariq Mansoor (left) and AP Abdullakutty (right), both Pasmanda Muslims, join BJP's national team as Vice Presidents.

NEW DELHI: With an eye on upcoming Assembly and general elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced a revamp of its central team with induction of some new faces, and prominently two Muslims.

The new list of national office bearers released by the BJP on Saturday features 13 national vice-presidents, 9 general secretaries, 13 national secretaries, and one national joint general secretary.

BL Santhosh, despite allegations of mismanagement and favourism against him in the Karnataka polls, retained his role as the organization’s in-charge.

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Two Pasmanda Muslims, former CPM and Congress leader AP Abdullakutty and former Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) vice chancellor Tariq Mansoor, have been inducted in the BJP national team as vice presidents.

Additionally, the list of vice presidents saw Radha Mohan Singh, former West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh, and Bharti Ben Syal being replaced by Lata Usendi, Tariq Mansoor, and Laxmikant Bajpai, respectively.

Within the ranks of general secretaries, CT Ravi, a prominent leader from Karnataka, and Dilip Saikia, a Lok Sabha MP from Assam, were dropped from their positions.

Among noteworthy inductions is Congress veteran AK Antony’s son Anil Antony as a new general secretary and so Bandi Sanjay Kumar, former Telangana unit chief.

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These strategic organizational changes come as the BJP gears up for state polls in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Mizoram in the coming months.

With a strong push to assert its presence in these elections and the ultimate goal of Lok Sabha polls next year, the BJP is diligently working towards a revamped and dynamic leadership team.

BJP president JP Nadda has been leading the charge in conducting key meetings to fine-tune the party’s strategy and ensure its competitiveness in the upcoming electoral battles.