Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, September 8
BJP chief JP Nadda today announced poll teams for key states, including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand, going to elections in 2022, appointing senior ministers and party leaders as in-charge and co-in-charge.
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has been given the charge of Uttar Pradesh and Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat of Punjab. Despite a relatively limited stake in Punjab, Nadda appears to be leaving no stone unturned and has given Shekhawat a strong team of three deputies, including Union Ministers Hardeep Puri and Meenakshi Lekhi, both with Punjab connections, and Lok Sabha MP Vinod Chavda.
Given the high stakes in UP, Pradhan’s deputies include Union Ministers Anurag Singh Thakur, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Shobha Karandlaje and Annapurna Devi, MPs Saroj Pande and Vivek Thakur, and former Haryana Minister Captain Abhimanyu.
Besides, UP has been divided into six parts for organisational purposes. For Uttarakhand, the charge is with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and his two deputies. In Manipur, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav will hold the fort.
Dharmendra Pradhan BJP’s poll in-charge for UP, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat Punjab
{$excerpt:n}
