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The appointment of three Union Ministers by the BJP high command to oversee party activities for the 2026 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu assumes significance as the national party pushes to gain a foothold in the State and strengthen the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ahead of next year’s polls.
On December 15, BJP national president J.P. Nadda appointed Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal as the election in-charge for Tamil Nadu. Mr. Goyal replaced Lok Sabha MP Baijayant Panda, who was appointed the election in-charge for the State on September 25.
The BJP high command also appointed Union Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal as the election co-in-charge, while retaining Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Cooperation Muralidhar Mohol who was appointed the co-in-charge earlier.
The fresh set of appointments coincides with the meeting of BJP Tamil Nadu president Nainar Nagenthran with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on December 14 and the appointment of Nitin Nabin, a member of the Nitish Kumar-led Cabinet in Bihar, as the party’s national working president.
A known face
BJP sources in Tamil Nadu feel that the appointment of Mr. Goyal as the election in-charge will help them organise party activities and coordinate better with alliance partners for the 2026 Assembly elections. According to the sources, Mr. Goyal was a relatively known face to the BJP’s alliance partners, particularly the AIADMK, as he played an instrumental role in seat-sharing negotiations as the party’s election in-charge in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
They say that Mr. Goyal, who has been a part of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Cabinet holding various key portfolios since 2014, enjoys the confidence of the BJP high command. He also played an important role in coordinating the election efforts of the party in a few other States.
These appointments are seen as crucial for the party, which is gearing up to gain a foothold in Tamil Nadu. Two weeks ago, Mr. Shah, while speaking in Ahmedabad, had asserted that the NDA will score a big victory in the upcoming elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
Though the BJP is directly taking on the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, it plays a junior partner role in Tamil Nadu’s version of the NDA, as the Chief Ministerial face remains AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami.
The BJP’s focus shifted towards West Bengal and Tamil Nadu after the party tasted a massive victory in the Bihar Assembly elections. With these appointments, BJP sources hope that these Union Ministers would play an important role in negotiations with potential alliance partners, bring them to the NDA, bargain seats from the AIADMK and speed up the process of giving final shape to the combine to give a tough contest against the ruling DMK-led alliance.
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