The Bharatiya Janata Party has set the ball rolling for the upcoming assembly elections in a clutch of states as it has announced in-charges who will have the mandate to oversee electioneering.
Union ministers aided by ministers of state and party functionaries have been given charge of states such as Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa where the party is contesting to retain power.
Union minister for education Dharmendra Pradhan has been given charge of the politically significant Uttar Pradesh.
Union minister for parliamentary affairs Pralhad Joshi has been given charge of Uttarakhand.
Union minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Shekhawat has been given charge of Punjab, where the party will be contesting on its own for the first time after its ally, the Shiromani Akali Dal, severed ties.
Bhupendra Yadav, Union minister for labour and employment and environment, forests and climate change will be in-charge of Manipur.