New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party has reshuffled its organisational responsibilities in three politically significant states, with the 2027 Assembly elections in view. BJP president Nitin Nabin on Tuesday appointed Satish Poonia as the party’s in-charge for Punjab, while senior leader Vinod Tawde will oversee Uttar Pradesh and Tarun Chugh has been assigned Gujarat. The appointments take effect immediately.
The Punjab assignment is particularly significant as the party prepares to strengthen its organisation in the state ahead of the next Assembly election. Poonia, a former Rajasthan BJP president and newly appointed national general secretary, had already been associated with the Punjab organisation in recent months and had been tasked with strengthening the party’s groundwork there.
Poonia’s new responsibility also comes on the back of his experience in Haryana. He was appointed the BJP’s Haryana in-charge in July 2024 and played a prominent organisational role during the Assembly election that year, when the party returned to power for a third consecutive term with 48 of the state’s 90 seats.
That Haryana experience is expected to be closely watched as Poonia takes charge in neighbouring Punjab. His appointment could indicate an emphasis on organisational consolidation, booth-level mobilisation and broader social outreach as the BJP seeks to expand its political footprint in the state.
Poonia’s background could also be relevant to the party’s outreach strategy. He is a Jat leader from Rajasthan and has previously worked extensively in Haryana, where Jat politics remains an important factor. BJP leaders have also been discussing ways to broaden the party’s engagement with different social groups in Punjab, including Jat Sikhs, Other Backward Classes and Dalits.
The Punjab post had remained vacant since the death of former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani in the Air India Flight 171 crash on June 12, 2025. Rupani had been serving as the BJP’s Punjab in-charge at the time.
Tawde Gets Crucial Uttar Pradesh Assignment
For Uttar Pradesh, Nabin has chosen Vinod Tawde, the BJP’s national general secretary and a Rajya Sabha member. Jagdish Ishwarbhai Patel, a national secretary, has been appointed as the state’s co-in-charge. Uttar Pradesh is expected to be one of the BJP’s most important electoral battlegrounds in the 2027 Assembly polls.
Tawde brings considerable organisational and election-management experience to the assignment. His appointment places a senior national leader at the centre of the BJP’s preparations for the country’s most populous state.
Tarun Chugh Assigned Gujarat
Tarun Chugh, another BJP national general secretary and Rajya Sabha member, has been given responsibility for Gujarat. The state is the political home of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah and remains a crucial organisational stronghold for the BJP.
The three appointments form part of the BJP’s wider organisational restructuring under Nitin Nabin, who has been reshaping the party’s national team while preparing it for upcoming Assembly elections and the longer-term political challenges ahead.
With Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat all carrying considerable political importance, the new assignments are expected to place greater focus on organisational strengthening and electoral preparation well ahead of the 2027 polls.
