BJP appoints Munde as election-in-charge for M'rashtra assembly elections

After its poor performance in Maharashtra during the recent Lok Sabha polls, BJP today appointed party MP Gopinath Munde as election in-charge of the state for the forthcoming assembly elections, replacing Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.  

The announcement was made by BJP President Rajnath Singh at a party function in Mumbai. Modi was the party election in-charge of Maharashtra during the Lok Sabha elections but BJP performed badly, getting only nine of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state. BJP did not win a single seat in Mumbai.  

Party sources said Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena had made a dent in BJP and Shiv Sena's vote bank queering their pitch in several Lok Sabha seats.  

BJP, however, maintained that its Lok Sabha performance in the state had nothing to do with Munde's appointment.  

"Modi was appointed for the Lok Sabha polls only and was divested of the charge when all poll-related committees were dissolved after elections," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar clarified.  

Munde, who won the Lok Sabha elections from Bheed, had served as deputy chief minister when Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi held the reins of the state.