Delhi Assembly Polls: BJP appoints Baijayant Panda as election in-charge

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has appointed Baijayant Panda as the Election In-Charge for the upcoming Delhi State elections. Panda, who is currently the BJP’s National Vice President, will lead the party’s election strategy. Atul Garg, a BJP MP from Ghaziabad, has been named Co-Incharge. Both appointments are effective immediately.

Panda, a former Member of Parliament, joined the BJP before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections after leaving his previous party and stepping down as MP in 2018. Since then, he has taken on several important roles in the BJP, including his current position as national vice president. Atul Garg will work alongside him to coordinate the party's campaign efforts in Delhi.

Delhi has 70 Assembly constituencies, and elections are expected to be held around February 2025, when the current government's term expires on February 15. In the last election, held in February 2020, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won a major victory, securing 62 out of 70 seats, with Arvind Kejriwal becoming chief minister for the third time.

Recently, Kejriwal resigned as Chief Minister in favor of his colleague Atishi due to legal troubles related to the Delhi liquor policy case. His resignation came after he was granted bail. Before stepping down, Kejriwal had called for early elections, possibly before the end of the year.

AAP entered Delhi politics in 2013 and quickly gained popularity. Kejriwal first became Chief Minister with support from the Congress, but his term lasted only 49 days as he resigned over the failure to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill. In 2015, AAP made a strong return, winning 67 out of 70 seats, and followed it up with another big win in 2020.

Earlier today, the Election Commission of India announced the polling dates for Maharashtra and Jharkhand. Maharashtra, with 288 Assembly seats, will vote on November 20. Jharkhand's elections will be held in two phases: the first on November 13 and the second on November 20. Votes for both states will be counted on November 23.