New Delhi, Aug. 19 -- The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday announced state in-charges for poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, where the party is eyeing a third term and for Punjab, where it has positioned itself as the principal opposition and the main challenger to the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party. Rajya Sabha MP and national general secretary Vinod Tawde has been given charge of UP while Jagdish Ishwarbhai Patel, a national secretary will be the co-in-charge. In poll-bound Punjab, newly appointed national general secretary Dr. Satish Poonia has been made in-charge. Poonia is also a Rajya Sabha MP. Both UP and Punjab will go to the polls in 2027. Rajya Sabha lawmaker and former national general secretary Tarun Chugh has been made in-charge of Gujarat. The announcements were made a day after the party announced the new team of 65-national officer bearers, which includes 12 women. Tawde, 63, who earlier oversaw elections in Keralam and was in-charge of Bihar is now counted among the party's main election strategists. Hailing from Maharashtra, he cut his teeth in politics as a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and then worked closely with the late Pramod Mahajan, honing his skills in electioneering and organisational work. UP, is not a new turf for Tawde, who oversaw the organisational election in the state, which is politically significant and sends the largest number of lawmakers to the Lok Sabha. "He has spent enough time on the ground and meeting both the cadre and people at large to acquaint himself with the intricacies of Hindi heartland politics. His experience in Bihar, where caste politics is as dominant as UP, will come in handy," said a party functionary. He also played a key role in managing the expansion of the Council of Ministers in Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh....