BJP unveils Nitin Nabin’s new team: Biplab Deb gets key post, 2 more Northeast leaders named; check full list

Former Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb has been appointed as a national general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with the party's new organisational team also giving representation to leaders from Nagaland and Assam.

Deb, who is currently the BJP MP from West Tripura, is among eight leaders appointed national general secretaries by party president Nitin Nabin on August 17. Former Union minister Smriti Irani, Sunil Bansal, Vinod Tawde, Gajendra Patel, Satish Poonia, Harish Dwivedi and Sanjay Bhatia are the other general secretaries.

The appointment marks a return to a prominent organisational role for Deb, who played a key part in the BJP's expansion in Tripura. After becoming the party's state president in 2016, he led the BJP to power in the 2018 Assembly elections, ending the Left Front's 25-year rule in the state. He subsequently served as chief minister from 2018 to 2022.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha congratulated Deb on his appointment, saying his administrative experience and grassroots leadership would strengthen the BJP's organisation across the country.

The Northeast's representation in the new team extends beyond Deb. Phangnon Konyak of Nagaland and Mriganka Deo Barman of Assam have been appointed national secretaries, giving the region a presence among the party's key organisational office-bearers.

Konyak, a Rajya Sabha MP from Nagaland, has been given a place in the national secretariat alongside leaders from several states, including Sandeep Pathak, Anil Antony, Rohan Gupta and Manoj Tigga.

Barman is among the BJP's new national secretaries from Assam, alongside leaders representing the party's organisational interests across the country.

The appointments were announced nearly six months after Nabin took charge as BJP president. The new team combines experienced leaders with younger faces, while women have also been given substantial representation.

The party has appointed 13 national vice presidents, including former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, former Uttarakhand chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat, Ram Madhav and Baijayant Jay Panda. Six of the 13 vice presidents are women.

Piyush Goyal will continue as the BJP's national treasurer, while Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Chugh has been made central office in-charge. Gujarat MP Hemang Joshi will head the Yuva Morcha and Chhattisgarh MP Roop Kumari Choudhary will oversee the Mahila Morcha.

Lok Sabha MP Anil Baluni will continue as media convenor, with Ashish Usha Agrawal, Pradeep Bhandari and Siddharth Yadav as co-convenors. Deepak Mhaskey of Chhattisgarh has been appointed social media convenor.

The new team will face its first major electoral test in 2027, when several states, including Uttar Pradesh, head to the polls. The organisational changes could also precede a possible reshuffle of the Union Cabinet.