Among those handed charge was Rajya Sabha MP and national general secretary Vinod Tawde. Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday appointed new state in-charges for Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat ahead of Assembly elections in these states in 2027.
The decision came a day after the party announced its new national team, with the appointment made by BJP national president Nitin Nabin. Former Gujarat MLA Jagdish Ishwarbhai Patel was appointed co-in-charge of Uttar Pradesh.
Rajya Sabha MP Tawde, who is also a former Maharashtra minister, had played a key role in the Bihar Assembly elections as BJP’s poll observer in the state. Not willing to take any chances, given Bihar’s chaotic political profile, the BJP high command asked him to study the fluctuating caste equations in the state. After discussions with party seniors and community veterans who had witnessed the anti-caste crusade of Ram Manohar Lohia and the subsequent rise of caste leaders, I realised that caste loyalty assumed significance in the 1960s. Now, the BJP has placed its bet on the senior leader to overcome the UP challenge as well. His tour was focused on taking feedback from senior party leaders on the long-overdue expansion of the state cabinet, changes in the party’s state organisation and appointments to vacant posts in various commissions.
The party, for the first time, emerged as the single largest party in the state, winning 89 seats. Tawde, who enjoys the party high command, is currently serving as a Member of Parliament from Maharashtra, being elected in April, 2026. During his stint as MLC, he was made the general secretary of BJP’s Maharashtra unit in 1995 for a duration of four years, and became the Mumbai BJP unit president in 1999. Following this, he was again made the general secretary of BJP’s Maharashtra unit in 2002, and continued in the position till 2014, when he was elected as an MLA from Borivali Assembly constituency. He was handed multiple ministerial portfolios in the CM Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra government which took oath in 2014, being appointed minister of medical education, minister of school education & sports & youth welfare, minister of cultural affairs, and minister of higher & technical education. He also played a significant role in persuading former Bihar CM and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar to re-join the NDA in January 2024. Regarding his study on the state’s caste conundrum, Tawde said, “Old election results showed me that caste had barely any role in the 1952 and 1957 elections. Earlier reporting noted: BJP announces poll in-charges for Assembly elections in U.P., Punjab and Gujarat The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday (August 18, 2026) announced the poll in-charges for Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat for the upcoming 2027 Assembly elections.
“Such an elaborate exercise helps the party reach out to the last person in a village,” Tawde had told HT then . Earlier reporting noted: BJP informed that the appointments made by the party’s national president, Nitin Nabin, will come into effect immediately. ”The appointment of other State in-charges will be made in due course,” the party added.
The BJP-led five-party alliance, including Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) and the Lok Janshakti Party, swept the Bihar assembly polls last year, securing a two-thirds majority in the state. Tawde has already made a visit to the state earlier this year, during which he held a closed-door meeting with chief minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow. Earlier reporting noted: This announcement came a day after the party unveiled its national organisational team which marked notable changes in the structural level.
