In election-bound Punjab, the BJP has once again placed its trust in a former Congress leader, appointing Kewal Singh Dhillon as state president in place of another ex-Congress leader, Sunil Jakhar. Jakhar had expressed his desire to step down from the post some time ago. A close aide of former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, Dhillon joined the BJP in 2022. He will be the party’s first Jat Sikh state president, a move seen as part of the BJP’s outreach to the influential community. The party has already elevated Ravneet Singh Bittu to the Union Council of Ministers. Party sources told ET that Dhillon, who hails from the politically crucial Malwa region, will be tasked with expanding the BJP’s footprint across the region’s 69 assembly constituencies ahead of the next state elections.
In Delhi, the BJP finally settled on Harsh Malhotra, MP from East Delhi and a minister of state in the Union government, as its state chief. A long-time party worker, Malhotra previously served as mayor of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation. With his appointment, two Union ministers of state now hold dual responsibilities as state BJP presidents, the other being Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Pankaj Chaudhary. Party insiders said the move could indicate that the BJP is preparing to induct new faces in a future Union Cabinet reshuffle.
Dhillon to also spearhead BJP’s expansion across Malwa’s 69 seats
In Haryana, the party appointed Archana Gupta as its state president. Gupta, who was serving as state general secretary, earned the leadership’s confidence through her organisational work, party sources said. She is known to share a cordial working relationship with chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, and the party believes the two will function effectively as a team. Sources said the BJP also wanted to address discontent within the Bania community, which received fewer tickets in the last assembly elections and secured only three victories. Gupta’s appointment also aligns with the party’s push to promote more women leaders. With her elevation, the BJP now has women presidents in two states – Haryana and Manipur, where A Sharda Devi heads the state unit.
In Tripura, first-time MLA Abhishek Debroy from Matarbari was appointed the new BJP state president. Debroy began his political career in the Congress before joining the BJP in 2017. Within the party, he rose through the ranks from district president to MLA and now state president.
