Pradhan, Mandaviya and Annamalai given charge of BJP’s Karnataka Assembly poll campaign

The appointments come ahead of PM’s visit to Karnataka on Monday

Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan will be in charge of the BJP’s electoral affairs for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections | Photo Credit: -

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Karnataka on Monday, BJP president J.P. Nadda announced that Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan will be party in-charge for the upcoming State Assembly elections, with Minister for Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya and BJP Tamil Nadu president K. Annamalai as co-incharge. Karnataka is to go to polls in April-May.

Though initially only Mr. Annamalai was appointed as co-incharge to assist Mr. Pradhan, hours later J. P. Nadda appointed Mr. Mandaviya also assist Mr. Pradhan. Mr. Mandaviya, hailing from Gujarat, is considered close to both Mr. Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. “His appointment is an indication that the Modi-Shah duo wants to personally supervise and steer the poll campaign in the state,” a senior leader in the party said.

BJP National President Shri @JPNadda has appointed Union Minister Shri @dpradhanbjp as the BJP's Incharge and Tamil Nadu BJP President Shri @annamalai_k as the Co-incharge for the upcoming Karnataka Election 2023. pic.twitter.com/Wxe1KswjhL

— BJP (@BJP4India) February 4, 2023

Mr. Pradhan is a veteran party organisation man with past experience of Karnataka affairs. He was the party’s national general secretary in-charge of the State from 2011 to 2013, during a difficult phase when B.S. Yediyurappa walked out of the party to form the Karnataka Janata Party (KJP), grounding BJP in the State in the 2013 Assembly elections. He was the observer from the party high command when Mr. Yediyurappa resigned as chief minister and was succeeded by Basavaraj Bommai in July 2020. 

“He has the organisational heft and skills to navigate a difficult election when the party is facing anti-incumbency. From his earlier stints in party affairs in the State, it can be said that he is a very pragmatic man with the party’s interests in mind, rather than falling prey to factionalism within the State unit. This was evident during the difficult assignment he was on to choose the successor to Mr. Yediyurappa in 2020,” a senior party leader said. 

K. Annamalai, BJP president in Tamil Nadu, is a former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer from the Karnataka cadre | Photo Credit: R. Ravindran

Mr. Annamalai is a 2011 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer from the Karnataka cadre. He resigned from service in 2019 and joined the BJP in his home State of Tamil Nadu. Mr. Annamalai had served in various regions of Karnataka, and enjoys the image of an ‘honest and tough officer’ in the State.