New Delhi : Speeding up the poll preparations for three States of Delhi, Haryana and Maharashtra, the BJP on Friday appointed Union Ministers Prakash Javadekar, Narendra Singh Tomar and party general secretary Bhupendra Yadav as its poll incharges for Delhi, Haryana and Maharashtra respectively. BJP vice-president OP Mathur has been appointed as poll incharge for Jharkhand.Post-Lok Sabha victory, BJP would like to retain power in Haryana and Maharashtra and also wrest Delhi from the ruling AAP even as the latter looks determined to make a second comeback in the national capital. The AAP, which had swept polls in Delhi in 2015 with good backing of residents of slums and ‘unauthorised colonies’, is again pitching for a strong show in the coming Assembly elections scheduled early 2020. AAP had won 67 of 70 Assembly seats in Delhi.The BJP has also appointed two co-incharges Nityanand Rai and Hardeep Singh Puri to assist Javadekar in Delhi, where BJP could win only three out of the 70 Assembly seats in the last Assembly elections.On his appointment, Javadekar, who was earlier in-charge of Assembly polls and Lok sabha elections for Rajasthan, said he will discharge his responsibility with dedication and will prepare plans for the Delhi polls after consulting party president and other leaders concerned.For Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Haryana too, the BJP has appointed co-incharges.Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and OBC leader Keshav Prasad Maurya along with Karnataka leader Laxman Sevadi will be co-incharges for Maharashtra polls. Tomar will be assisted by Bhupendra Singh, a Jat leader from Haryana, in handling election related affairs in the state. Jats have a sizeable population in Haryana. BJP leader and a minister in Bihar’s NDA government Nand Kishore Yadav will be co-incharge assisting Mathur in Jharkhand.
