BJP's big reshuffle of party chiefs in many states ahead of 2024 elections

Ahead of the 2024 elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party announced new chiefs in four states. G Kishan Reddy, MP and union minister, will now lead the party in poll-bound Telangana, replacing Bandi Sanjay Kumar.

New Delhi: In a big organisational rejig, the BJP on Tuesday named Union minister G Kishan Reddy, Sunil Jakhar, Babulal Marandi and D Purandeswari its president in Telangana, Punjab, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh respectively.

Union minister G Kishan Reddy will now lead the BJP party in poll-bound Telangana. He replaced Bandi Sanjay Kumar in the state. In a statement, the party also announced former Union minister D Purandeswari as its new Andhra Pradesh president and brought in OBC leader Etela Rajender as its election management committee chairperson in the poll-bound Telangana.

The development highlights the BJP's emphasis to set its house in order in Telangana where many relatively new but powerful entrants to the party were against the leadership of Bandi Sanjay Kumar. Sources said Kumar may be inducted as a minister in the central government in a reshuffle in the coming days.

Jakhar replaces Ahwani Sharma while Marandi comes in the place of Deepak Prakash. Jakhar, the former MP who came in BJP from Congress in May last year claiming he wanted to support "nationalism, unity and brotherhood in Punjab", will lead the BJP party in Punjab. The rejig is significant in the primacy given to leaders who have joined the BJP from other parties. Jakhar and Rajender left the Congress and the BRS respectively earlier to join the BJP. Purandeswari was in the Congress and a minister in the UPA government. The development will further fuel the speculation about a Cabinet rejig.

With the BJP not being traditionally strong in Telangana, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh, its projection of these relative outsiders is unlikely to draw much opposition from its cadres and can help its expansion exercise, sources said. The development will further fuel the speculation about a Cabinet rejig, with the upcoming assembly polls in states like Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh likely to be a factor besides the BJP's bid to give allies more representation.