New Delhi,Dec. 26: Stepping up preparation for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP on Wednesday appointed election in-charges for 17 States and Chandigarh, assigning party General Secretary Arun Singh in charge of Odisha.

As per the notification issued, former Gujarat Minister Gordhan Zadafia has been appointed in-charge of the crucially-important state of Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 MPs to the Lower House of Parliament. 64-year-old Zadafia will be assisted by party’s national vice president Dushyant Gautam and former Madhya Pradesh Minister Narottam Mishra.

Former Kerala unit President V. Muralidharan as in-charge of Andhra Pradesh while Sunil Deodhar, credited for the party’s landslide victory in Tripura, will assist him.

Mahendra Singh, a minister in the Uttar Pradesh’s Yogi Government has been appointed election in-charge of Assam, while Bhupendra Yadav will continue to be the incharge of party affairs in Bihar where the BJP recently finalised a seat-sharing formula with the Janata Dal-United and the Lok Janshakti Party.

Senior leader Om Praksh Mathur will continue as in-charge of Gujarat. He was BJP’s Gujarat in-charge during Modi’s tenure as Chief Minister. He was given charge of Uttar Pradesh in October 2014.

Secretary and former Uttarakhand BJP President, Tirath Singh Rawat will be in-charge of Himachal Pradesh while Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey has been appointed in-charge of Jharkhand.

In Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP was ousted from power after 15 years, Shah has appointed Uttar Pradesh Minister Swantantra Dev Singh as in-charge and former Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay will assist him.

The party has retained Prakash Javadekar as in-charge of Rajasthan where the Congress defeated the saffron party in a closely fought battle. Party Spokesperson Sudhandhu Trivedi will assist him as co-in charge.

Party Spokesperson Nalin Kohli, who was earlier in-charge of Meghalaya has been given responsibility as election in charge of Manipur and Nagaland.

Party General Secretary Arun Singh will be in charge of Odisha where the BJP has focused a lot to oust the ruling Biju Janata Dal from power.

Haryana Minister Captain Abhimanyu has been appointed as in-charge of Punjab and Chandigarh.

Nitin Navin, a BJYM leader and an MLA from Bihar, has been appointed as in-charge of Sikkim governed by Sikkim Democratic Front, a constituent of the National Democratic Alliance.

Arvind Limbawali, an MLA from Karnataka, has been appointed as in-charge of Telangana while union Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot has been given responsibility as in charge of Uttarakhan