A SAFFRON FACELIFT

A new state unit chief. A new A leader of opposition. A new incharge of the state. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has seen radical changes in its organisational structure in Chhattisgarh since August, with three new men commandeering its efforts to bring the party back into power as the state prepares for the assembly election scheduled in a little over a year.

- Rahul Noronha

After having an uninterrupted 15-year reign led by then chief minister Raman Singh, the BJP faced a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Congress in the last assembly election in 2018-winning just 15 of the 90 seats, and later losing one more to the Congress in a by-election. It is against this backdrop that the party's central leadership has initiated a major rejig in the state unit. It began with Arun Sao, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Bilaspur seat in 2019, being appointed the Chhattisgarh BJP president in early August, replacing former Union minister Vishnudeo Sai. A few days later, Dharamlal Kaushik made way for Narayan Chandel to be appointed as the leader of the opposition in the state assembly. Within a month, BJP veteran Om Mathur was named the party's Chhattisgarh in-charge, replacing D. Purandeswari.