Ahead of the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections due by the year end, the ruling BJP today appointed parliamentarian Rakesh Singh as the party's state unit chief.
Singh, the Jabalpur MP and party's chief whip in the Lok Sabha, replaced Nandkumar Singh Chauhan who has been the BJP's state unit president since August 2014, said vice president Vijesh Lunawat of the party's Madhya Pradesh unit.
The BJP national general secretary Arun Singh issued a letter today appointing Rakesh Singh as the state party chief.
According to sources, Singh's name was finalised in the BJP's state core group meeting in Bhopal last night.
The meeting was also attended by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and BJP organisational secretary Ram Lal.
The general elections to the 230-member Madhya Pradesh assembly will be held by the end of the year. The BJP, which has been at the helm of affairs in the state since 2003, faces the challenge of retaining power for the fourth consecutive term.