Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 17: Ahead of the elections in some key states including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand next year, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday unveiled a revamped national structure carrying out a major organisational reshuffle under its national president Nitin Nabin, bringing a mix of experienced leaders and key political faces into the party’s new central team.
The revamped organisation includes 13 national vice presidents, eight national general secretaries, 16 morcha presidents among other office-bearers. The new line-up marks a key step in Nabin’s functioning as BJP national president and gives the party a fresh organisational structure at the national level.
The timing of the organisational overhaul is also significant from an electoral perspective. Several major states, including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Goa, are scheduled to go to the polls in 2027. The new national team will therefore be tasked with strengthening coordination between the BJP’s central organisation and its state units as the party moves towards the next major electoral cycle.
The organisational changes also come against the backdrop of political developments and protests over the NEET controversy, which had put pressure on the BJP-led government. Against this backdrop, the new appointments are being viewed as more than a routine internal exercise, with the party positioning its national organisation for the political challenges ahead.
Among the major addition in the new central team was bringing back the former union minister Smriti Irani as one of the national general secretaries while the former Rajasthan chief minister Vsundhara Raje retains her post as one in the vice-presidents. Former Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb and senior leader Ram Madhav are also named in the new team.
Perhaps the most notable ouster was of the BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya who had been piloting the party’s massive digital outreach across various spheres and who also as party’s in-charge of West Bengal ensured the party’s maiden entry into the eastern state in a grandiose style totally annihilating the ruling party of 15 years, the Trinamool Congress headed by the former chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Deepak Mhaskey from Chhattisgarh has been brought in to lead the IT and social-media machinery.
Anil Baluni will continue in his role as media in-charge. The change in the IT Cell leadership is among the most closely watched appointments in the new organisational set-up, given the importance of digital communication and social media in the BJP’s political outreach. He will be assisted by joint coordinators Ashish Usha Agarwal, Pradeep Bhandari and Siddharth Yadav.
The party’s youth wing chief and one of the most vocal party MPs, Tejasvi Surya has also been removed as he president of the BJP youth wing and will be replaced by Hemang Joshi as the chief of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM).
Besides Ms Raje, Nabin has retained Baijayant Jay Panda, Rekha Verma and Tariq Mansoor as national vice presidents in the BJP’s revamped organisational team. At the same time, several prominent leaders have been left out of the new vice-presidential line-up. The list of those dropped includes Saudan Singh, Saroj Pandey, DK Aruna, M Chuba Ao, Abdulla Kutty, Laxmikant Bajpai and Lata Usendi.
The new team also brings in a number of fresh faces for the post. Tirath Singh Rawat, Ram Madhav, D Purandeshwari, Varshaben Narendrabhai Doshi, Bharti Pravin Pawar, Manpreet Singh Badal, Lal Singh Arya, M Nagaraja and Madhuchandra Kar have been appointed as national vice presidents.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also congratulated the newly appointed national office bearers of the party. “I am confident they will give their best in strengthening our Party and focusing on public service. My best wishes to them,” he stated.
The BJP has appointed eight national general secretaries in the new team. The list includes Vinod Tawde, Sunil Bansal, Biplab Kumar Deb, Smriti Irani, Satish Poonia, Gajendra Patel, Harish Dwivedi and Sanjay Bhatia. BL Santhosh will continue as national general secretary organisation. Shivprakash and Saudan Singh have been appointed national joint general secretaries organisation. The new appointments give Nabin a mix of leaders with substantial organisational experience as he takes forward the BJP’s national structure.
The party has also announced its new team of national secretaries. The list includes K Kavita Patidar, K Surendran, Bhola Singh, Pradip Varma, Phangnon Konyak, Anil Antony, Sandeep Pathak and Manoj Tigga, among others. The appointments further expand Nabin’s national team and bring leaders from different regions and political backgrounds into the party’s central organisational framework. Piyush Goyal has been appointed national treasurer, while Tarun Chugh will serve as the central office in-charge.
While Roop Kumari replaces Vanathi Srinivasan as the Mahila Morcha Achief, Amarpal Maurya replaces K Laxman as the OBC Cell chief, Bansilal Gurjar replaces Rajkumar Chahar as Kisan Morcha chief, Shivesh Kumar Ram replaces Lal Singh Arya as SC Morcha chief, Mangalam Rawat replaces Sameer Oraon as ST Morcha chief and Kunwar Basit Ali replaces Jamal Siddiqui as the Minority Morcha chief.
The appointments indicate a push towards the southern and eastern states, with leaders from Kerala, West Bengal, Odisha and the northeast receiving prominent secretary and vice-president positions. Sandeep Pathak, who quit the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), has been made national secretary. Its national spokesman Sambit Patra has been appointed coordinator for the northeast region.
The reshuffle of the party’s IT cell come at a time when political parties are increasingly relying on digital platforms to communicate directly with voters and party workers. The fresh team, across functions, combines experienced leaders who have strong organisational and grassroots experience with a new line of next-generation leaders.
The dominance of social media has become integral for political parties in shaping public opinion and reaching out to people with details about plans and visions. The effectiveness of the social media functions of the BJP will depend on these men and women who are expected to boost the engine for maximum impact in the upcoming elections.