BJP names Dharmendra Pradhan Bihar poll in-charge; picks Bhupender Yadav to head West Bengal polls

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday announced key organisational appointments for upcoming assembly polls in Bihar, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, naming Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Bhupender Yadav as election in-charges for Bihar and West Bengal respectively.

The party said Union minister C R Paatil, who heads the Gujarat BJP and is regarded as a strong organisational hand, and Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya will serve as co-in-charges for the Bihar polls.

Elections in Bihar are expected to be held in November.


In West Bengal, where polls are due in March-April 2026, former Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb has been named as co-in-charge alongside Yadav.

For Tamil Nadu, the BJP appointed its national vice-president Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda as in-charge, with Union minister Murlidhar Mohol as co-in-charge. The southern state is also scheduled to vote in March-April 2026, where the BJP is a junior ally of the AIADMK.

The BJP underlined that both Pradhan and Yadav are among its most experienced poll managers, having overseen several state elections in the past. The appointments, it said, are aimed at strengthening the party’s organisational machinery ahead of the crucial electoral battles.