JP Nadda Appoints New BJP State Chiefs In Madhya Pradesh, Kerala And Sikkim In Major Overhaul

BJP chief Jagat Prakash appointed new state chief in Madhya Pradesh, Sikkim and Kerala as party of major organisational overhaul on Saturday. Vishnu Dutt Sharma has been appointed as president of Madhya Pradesh BJP. Sharma replaces Rakesh Singh. Apart from Madhya Pradesh, new state chiefs have been appointed in Kerala and Sikkim. K Surendran has been appointed as president of Kerala BJP and Dal Bahadur Chauhan has got the top job for Sikkim BJP. Vishnu Dutt Sharma had won the Panna-Khajuraho seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections.

Sharma has a long association with the RSS and began his political career with the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad. Sources say that it was the RSS that had nudged the BJP to appoint Sharma as Madhya Pradesh BJP chief.  

The appointments come at a time when the BJP’s top leadership is in huddle over the poor show in the Delhi Assembly Elections. Though in terms of tally, the BJP did improve its 2015 numbers in Delhi. However, the ‘improvement’ didn’t halt the AAP’s juggernaut. On statistical note, the – BJP saw its best vote share in Delhi in last three decades. The BJP had last won an election in 1993 when it bagged 42.82 percent of the total votes polled. In 2015 Assembly elections, the BJP had got 32.19 percent votes. This year, BJP bagged 38.51 percent of the total votes polled. It means the saffron party has gained 6-7 percent additional vote share in the recently concluded polls. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) got a thumping 53.57 percent vote share which translated into 62 seats and the BJP bettered its tally to 8 seats in the 70-member house.

Earlier, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday reacted to Bharatiya Janata Party's Delhi poll debacle and accepted that his assessment on Delhi elections went wrong. Holding his party leaders hate statements, one of the reasons, for BJP's poor performance in the recently announced Delhi poll results, Shah said, "Statements like 'goli maro' and 'Indo-Pak match' should not have been made."

Speaking at Times Now Summit, Shah further added that his party may have suffered loss because of hate statements made by party leaders. During the event, Amit Shah also elaborated government's stand on Shaheen Bagh protests and said that everyone has a right to protest and his office is open to discuss any issues related to the act. "Anyone who wants to discuss issues related to CAA with me can seek time from my office, will allot time within three days," Shah said.