BJP revamps in-charges for Telangana, Karnataka local body polls

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday announced key organisational appointments for the upcoming municipal and corporation elections in Telangana and Karnataka , and named a senior leader as observer for the politically sensitive Chandigarh mayoral election , marking the first major organisational decisions taken after Nitin Nabin assumed charge as the party’s national president .

According to party notifications, BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde has been appointed as the party’s observer for the Chandigarh mayoral election , scheduled for January 29 , a contest that has assumed national significance amid a closely contested numerical balance in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation.

In Telangana , where elections to several municipalities and municipal corporations including Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), Warangal, Karimnagar, Khammam, Nizamabad and Ramagundam are scheduled to be held in February , Maharashtra minister Ashish Shelar has been appointed as the BJP’s state in-charge for the civic polls with immediate effect.

Former Rajasthan BJP president Ashok Parnami and Rajya Sabha MP Rekha Sharma have been named co-incharges for Telangana, according to a notification issued by BJP national general secretary Arun Singh .

Shelar, a prominent organisational leader and close aide of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, is known for his experience in urban elections and cadre mobilisation , particularly in Mumbai. Ashok Parnami brings long administrative and organisational experience, while Rekha Sharma, a former National Commission for Women chairperson, is expected to focus on women voters and social outreach .

In Karnataka , the BJP has appointed senior leader and national general secretary Ram Madhav as in-charge for the Greater Bengaluru Authority elections , expected to be held in March , following the restructuring of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) into multiple civic bodies.

Former Rajasthan BJP president Satish Poonia and Maharashtra MLA Sanjay Upadhyay have been appointed as co-incharges for the Bengaluru civic polls.

Ram Madhav, regarded as one of the BJP’s key strategists, has previously handled sensitive organisational assignments in Jammu and Kashmir, the North-East and southern states , and is expected to oversee candidate selection, alliance strategy and campaign coordination in Bengaluru the BJP’s traditional urban stronghold.

The appointments were announced on the same day Nitin Nabin formally took charge as BJP national president at the party headquarters in New Delhi in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi , Union Home Minister Amit Shah , Defence Minister Rajnath Singh , Union Minister Nitin Gadkari , outgoing party chief J P Nadda , and senior party leaders.

Party sources said the timing of the appointments reflects Nabin’s intent to quickly assert organisational control , strengthen booth-level preparedness and sharpen the party’s urban governance narrative ahead of a packed election calendar.

The Chandigarh mayoral election , scheduled for January 29 , is being closely watched as the BJP and the Congress-AAP combine are locked in a tight contest in the 35-member municipal corporation. The mayoral post is seen as crucial not only for administrative control of the Union Territory but also as a symbolic battle for political momentum ahead of upcoming parliamentary and Assembly elections.

Vinod Tawde’s appointment as observer signals the BJP leadership’s focus on ensuring party discipline and strategic coordination during the mayoral vote, which had earlier witnessed legal and political controversies.

Reacting to the appointments, senior BJP leaders said the party was “ fully prepared to take on civic challenges in key urban centres ,” while opposition leaders alleged that the BJP was “over-centralising decision-making” ahead of local polls.

“The appointments come into immediate effect,” Arun Singh said, underscoring the party’s push to intensify preparations on the ground.

Political observers view the moves as the BJP’s attempt to regain and consolidate its urban voter base in southern India , using civic elections as a springboard for larger electoral battles under the new party leadership.