BJP announces new central team, PM Narendra Modi congratulates 

As per the list released by the party, the BJP dropped leaders like Saroj Pandey, Ram Madhav and Murlidhar Rao as national general secretaries.

However, the party appointed Dushyant Kumar Gautam, D Purandeswari, CT Ravi, Tarun Chugh and Dilip Saikia in the list of the national general secretaries.

The national vice-president's list includes names like Mukul Roy (West Bengal) and former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje, among others.

Appreciating the new team, Indian PM Narendra Modi tweeted: "Congratulations and best wishes to the new team. I am confident they will uphold the glorious tradition of our Party of serving the people of India selflessly and with dedication. May they work hard to empower the poor and marginalised."

The party made the announcement just a day after the dates of the Bihar polls was announced on Friday.

The first elections in India amid the Covid-19 situation will be held in the eastern state of Bihar between Oct 28 and Nov 7 as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will lock horns with a disarrayed opposition in a high-pitched electoral contest.

Chief Election Commissioner of India, Sunil Arora, on Thursday announced the elections in one of the biggest Indian states will be conducted in only three phases on Oct 28, Nov 3 and 7 while the results will be declared on Nov 10.

 In the first phase, 71 assembly seats in across 16 districts will go for the polls while 94 and 78 seats will have elections in the second and third phases respectively.