Setting in motion the process for an organisational overhaul ahead of the Assembly elections, the BJP on Wednesday appointed Jabalpur MP Rakesh Singh as the new state unit chief for Madhya Pradesh. Similar changes are expected for Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are expected to go to polls toward the end of this year, while Assembly elections are due in Andhra Pradesh next year.
Rakesh Singh is currently the chief whip of the BJP in the Lok Sabha and also co-in-charge of party affairs in BJP-ruled Maharashtra. He is replacing Nand Kumar Singh Chauhan, who is considered close to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The outgoing state president represents Khandwa Lok Sabha seat.
The changes have been put in motion as Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan will go to polls later this year. The BJP government faces anti-incumbency due to various reasons including the farmers' and the dalit agitations. By bringing in Rakesh Singh, BJP chief Amit Shah has sent a message that the organisation in the state needs to gear up to take up the challenge posed by the Congress. Rakesh is known for his organisational skills as he was also entrusted with the key state of Maharashtra.
In Rajasthan, the current state unit president, Ashok Parnami, is also considered close to Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. The BJP will have to try harder to retain the state as the anti-incumbency sentiment is strong there.
The BJP had lost recent bypolls in both Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan to the Congress.
A replacement for Parnami may be announced in the next few days.
Andhra Pradesh state unit chief K. Haribabu had already expressed his desire to step down from the post. BJP had recently severed its ties with the ruling TDP. The saffron party smells an opportunity to expand its base in the state where it was playing second fiddle to the Telugu Desam Party.
As state presidents are part of the BJP's national executive committee, the outgoing chiefs would cease to be part of it. Amit Shah has appointed all three to the BJP's national executive.