DC Edit | BJP sets tone for battles ahead

Sustained speculation over, the Bharatiya Janata Party finally named the president of several state units, including the two Telugu states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, besides Punjab and Jharkhand, and declared its intent to prepare in earnest for the electoral battles ahead. Some of them are very crucial for the party, especially those in Telangana and Jharkhand, and both at the state level as well as the Lok Sabha.

In Telangana, where the BJP rose spectacularly in the last three years under first-time president Bandi Sanjay Kumar, veteran and former three-time state unit boss G. Kishan Reddy was chosen to replace him.

Mr Kishan Reddy, currently a Cabinet minister in the Narendra Modi government, has just five months to prepare the party for the Assembly polls. He will be supported by former BRS minister Eatala Rajender, who has been given a slightly unprecedented assignment of heading the state election management committee. Together, Mr Reddy and Mr Rajender, both of whom are considered soft-spoken leaders, have to reverse a growing perception that the battle in Telangana is now squarely between the ruling BRS and the Congress.

In Jharkhand, too, the party has chosen to trust a seasoned senior leader, in Babulal Marandi, who has served in many capacities, including as chief minister. The BJP needs the state unit to get galvanised quickly to prepare for the Lok Sabha, where it will hope for a big sweep and follow it up with a winning performance in the state Assembly against incumbent CM Hemant Soren.

In Punjab and Andhra Pradesh, the party has very low stakes in standalone capacity. It has been in alliance governments before, but largely piggybacked on allies, the Akali Dal and Telugu Desam, both of whom have since quit the NDA.

Sunil Jakhar as new Punjab state chief and D. Purandeswari as head of the AP state unit have low expectations, but if the NDA opens up to newer partners or a return of former allies, they might have a job at hand. Both the leaders, Mr Jakhar and Ms Purandeswari, have held big positions and have had strong leadership moments before joining the BJP.