Prez polls: BJP sets up 14-member 'management team'

The Bharatiya Janata Party has constituted a 14-member 'management team', with Union Minister Gajendra Shekhawat as its convener, for coordinating with all its state units and allies for the presidential elections.

BJP general secretaries Vinod Tawde and C T Ravi are the co-conveners of the team. Tarun Chugh, who is also a general secretary, is also part of the team, according to a notice issued by the party.

Union ministers G Kishan Reddy, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Sarbananda Sonowal, Arjun Meghwal and Bharati Pawar are also members of the team.

The other members are BJP's national vice-president D K Aruna, national secretary Rituraj Sinha, national president of women's wing Vanati Srinivasan, national spokesperson Sambit Patra and Assam unit vice-president Rajdeep Roy.

According to sources, this management team will coordinate with all state units of the BJP and its allies for the presidential election and is also expected to guide its elected voting representatives on the voting process.

Earlier, the BJP had authorised its president J P Nadda and Union Minister Rajnath Singh to consult with other political parties, including those in the opposition, for building a consensus on a presidential candidate.

Both Nadda and Singh have already reached out to several leaders including Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee, Nitish Kumar, Naveen Patnaik, Farooq Abdullah and several others.

With numbers on its side, the BJP-led NDA is expected to ensure the victory of its candidate in the presidential elections.

The elections are scheduled to be held on July 18.