Three brand new Chief Ministers from the back benches of the BJP’s leadership cohort — Mohan Yadav in Madhya Pradesh, Vishnu Deo Sai in Chattisgarh, and Bhajan Lal Sharma in Rajasthan — is not the only change this year has seen in the party, with new entrants into its backroom planning also taking a bow in 2023.
The role of the chunaav prabhari or in-charge for a State heading for an election is quite important in the BJP’s organisational set-up. This is a person who belongs to a State other than the one going into polls, hence has no personal likes and dislikes, and is supposed to be empowered by the central leadership of the party to offer assurances to rebel candidates and dissenters, as well as repair organisational fault-lines.
For example, during the Assembly election in Uttar Pradesh in 2022, Union Minister and election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan largely focused on making sure the large number of disgruntled BJP workers in the State, especially in eastern U.P., were on page with the campaign.
